Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS reminds public about new child restraint system requirements (March 11, 2005)

On January 1, 2005 the new Child Safety Seat Law went into effect. The new law says that Infants through children age 8 and weighing less than 80 pounds must be properly restrained in an appropriate child safety seat in all seating positions when riding in a vehicle.

Motor vehicle crashes are still the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under, killing approximately 1,700 kids and injuring another 248,000 each year.

The type of restraint system that should be used varies with the age and size of the child as follows:

• Age under 1 year and weight up to 20 lbs. -- Rear Facing Child Safety Seat
• Age between 1 and 8 years and weight between 20 and 40 lbs. -- Forward Facing Child Safety Seat
• Age less than 8 years and weight greater than 40 lbs. -- Belt Positioning Booster Seat
• Age 8 years and older and weight greater than 80 lbs. -- Lap and Shoulder Belts

Restraint systems prevent injury in the event of an accident by preventing ejection. Ejected occupants are four times more likely to be killed as those who remain inside the vehicle and are 14 times more likely to receive cervical spinal injuries. Restraint systems also prevent injury by contacting the strongest parts of the body, spreading forces over a wide area of the body, helping the body to "ride down" the crash, and protecting the head and spinal cord from injury. Restraint systems are 71% effective in reducing deaths for infants and 54% effective in reducing toddler deaths in passenger vehicles. Use of restraint systems produces a 69% reduction in the need for hospitalization. Furthermore, children riding in the rear seat are 37% less likely to be fatally injured.

In August, 2002, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign (SAFE KIDS) analyzed the incorrect patterns of more than 37,000 child safety seats and vehicle seat belts at SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP car seat check up events from February, 2001 to May, 2002. Results indicated that 81.6% of the Child Restraint Systems observed were misused with an average of (3) three errors per seat. Many informal checkup events held across the US consistently record 90% to 99% incorrect use rates. Types of misuse include use of the wrong child safety seat for the age and size of the child, harnessing errors, and installation errors

Penalties for violation of the child restraint law in North Carolina include 2 points assessed against the driver, $25 fine plus court cost against the driver for seat belt violation by occupant under the age of 16, $25 fine plus court costs against the offender, $25 plus court costs against the offender for seat belt violation by passenger age 16 and older.