Street Smarts
It’s Child Passenger Safety Week
While Valentine’s Day
falls within this time period, what better way to show
your love to your children than by making sure they are properly strapped into
the family vehicle?
Traffic collisions are
the leading cause of death for children ages 5 to 16 years, according to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Properly installed child
safety seats reduce an infant’s risk of death and injury by 71 percent; 54 percent for toddlers.
In 2001, despite
Nationally, statistics
show fewer children up to age 15 were killed in crashes since record-keeping began in 1975, thanks to a national child
restraint usage rate of 95 percent for infants and 91 percent for toddlers.
But there is still room for
improvement, the agency said. Less than 10 percent of children who should be restrained in booster seats ride in one. Booster
seats lift a child up so a safety belt can fit correctly. Without one, a small
child can be ejected from a vehicle in a crash.
The administration
recommends that children who have outgrown their child safety seats be properly
restrained in booster seats from about age 4 and 40 pounds to at least age 8, unless the child is 4 feet 9 inches tall.
In California, a law
enacted last year requires children to ride in the appropriate form of child
passenger restraints until they are at least 6 years old or weigh at least 60
pounds.
For
more information on child passenger safety, visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov, www.buckleupamerica.org
or www.ots.ca.gov.
Traffic survey
If your phone rings and the person
on the other end asks for your thoughts regarding traffic safety issues, feel
free to tell him or her what’s on your mind. The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration is conducting a national survey on the topic through
March. The results will be used to improve traffic
safety. Participants’ private information will be kept
confidential.
Quiz of the week
In keeping with
the Child Passenger Safety Week theme, this week’s quiz is
meant to get parents thinking about the safety of their children as they
travel in the family chariot. Test your knowledge of where and how children should be seated:
True or false: It is safe
for young children to ride in the front seat.
True or false: Infants
should ride in front-facing car seats.
True or false: Lap belts
on children using booster seats should fit low and tight across the child’s
upper thigh area and the shoulder belt should fit snug across the child’s chest
and shoulder.
The first five people to
reply with the correct answers will win a Sentinel mug. Send your answers to streetsmarts@santa-cruz.com
or call 429-2447. Limit one prize per household every 90 days.
Last week, Mary Smith of
The answer: False,
pedestrians may not cross against a red light. Why?
Because it’s unsafe and it’s the law.
The
winner: Dorothy and David Walworth of
Rule of the week
The "I Promise Program"
teen safe-driving initiative recommends parents to not allow teen drivers to
chauffeur younger children because young children often do not value the
authority of teen drivers and may be prone to acting up and distracting the
driver.
If you must rely on a
teen driver, make sure they know how to install the necessary equipment,
whether it be an infant carrier or a car or booster
seat. The California Highway Patrol teaches and inspects for proper
installation of such devices. Make an appointment by calling 662-0511.
Report
unrestrained or improperly restrained children to CHP dispatch at 455-4860.
Ramona Turner is a
Sentinel staff writer. Her column appears on Mondays and Thursdays. If you have
a transportation question or idea, contact her at streetsmarts@santa-cruz.com
or call 429-2447. Be sure to include a name, city of residence and daytime
telephone number.
Contact
Information:
I Promise Program Inc.
20
(905) 628-4847
gary123@sympatico.ca
www.ipromiseprogram.com