Edition 8			April 6, 2004
- World Health Day -	Child Seats Child safety seats are critical to the safety of America’s children. Knowing how to properly install and use them can help save lives every year. This e-newsletter provides updated and useful resources on child seat safety. A survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that child restraints are typically misused. The most common forms of misuse are loose harness straps securing the child and a loose vehicle safety belt attachment to the child restraint. Although more people use child restraints, improper use of these safety devices remains high. NHTSA is launching a new campaign that will encourage parents to use child seats and to use them correctly. To learn more about NHTSA’s initiative to promote child seat use or results from the survey, click here. Currently, all 50 states have laws that require children traveling in motor vehicles to be restrained in federally approved child restraint devices (e.g., infant or child safety seats) appropriate for the child’s size and age. State laws vary widely in defining the age, weight, and/or height, of children affected by the law. In addition, enforcement provisions and penalties vary widely from state to state. Drivers can be stopped simply for failing to restrain children as required by the law. Learn more about child restraints and Virginia laws on the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles web site, or to find a car seat inspection service near you, visit SEATCHECK. Sources: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publication: Guide to Community Preventive Services			- CHILD SEATS -
April 7, 2004 is World Health Day and this year’s topic is Road Safety. The World Health Organization (WHO) sponsors World Health Day, and every year it focuses on a major health problem that crosses national boundaries and threatens the health and safety of people worldwide. To learn more about World Health Day and how you can participate, visit the following sites: · The World Health Organization. · The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. · The Department of Transportation · The Pan American Health Organization					Child restraints saved the lives of 316 children under age 5 in the year 2000.
					Child restraints reduce injury by 71% for infants younger than age one, and by 54% for toddlers between the ages of 1 and 6.
					Having a child sit in the rear seat instead of the front seat reduces the risk of a fatal injury by 36% among children age 12 and younger.
					All 50 states have child restraint laws, but approximately 40% of children still ride unrestrained.
				Fact Sheet Source: Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Survey Finds Nearly 73 Percent of Child Restraints Misused: NHTSA Launches New Campaign to Promote Booster Seat Use Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles web site on Child Safety SEATCHECK: A Car Seat Inspection Locator Service The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC): Child Passenger Safety Information Update
George Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Public Health has completed numerous traffic safety campaigns. To review and download these campaigns and others, visit: http://www.caph.gmu.edu/Campaigns.htm
Funded by a grant from Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles P.O. Box 27412 Richmond, VA 23269 http://www.dmv.state.va.us		George Mason University Center for the Advancement of Public Health 4400 University Dr., MS1F5 Fairfax, VA 22030-4444 http://www.caph.gmu.edu