Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 16, 1990 TAG: 9007160091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Robert Breitenbach, director of the Transportation Safety Training Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, attributes the increase to the non-use or misuse of child safety seats. Although Virginia law requires that children younger than four be strapped into safety seats when traveling in motor vehicles, many parents are not heeding the requirement.
As of June 30th, 12 children died in traffic accidents around the state this year. That compares to three deaths for the same period in 1989, according to the Department of Motor Vehicle's Transportation Safety Administration.
"Nine of the fatalities were not in safety seats at all," Breitenbach said.
Automobile accidents are one of the highest death risks for children, he said.
"It frankly terrifies me when I see parents driving down the road with their children in their laps." said Dr. Joseph R. Zanga, chairman of pediatric emergency care at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals. "It terrifies me when I see kids in the back of a station wagon or a truck, or hanging out of car windows.
"And it terrifies me that parents who won't miss immunizations because they're concerned about their children's health will leave the doctor's parking lot without having the kids restrained."
Zanga said parents typically use several excuses for not using the seats.
"They say, `I'm not going to drive fast,' or `I'm only going down the street,' or `It can't happen to me.' "
Jan Buckner, a psychologist for the Transportation Safety Administration's Crash Investigation Office, said some parents think they can hold children safely in their arms during accidents. Holding a 10-pound child when a car comes to an abrupt stop from 30 mph is like holding back a 300-pound weight with your arms.
"They don't understand momentum and weight," she said.
Even parents who use the seats may not be using them properly. Breitenbach estimates that of the parents who do use safety seats, 60 percent of them are using them incorrectly. Some parents even allow children to seat themselves and then drive off without checking them.
Charles Stoke of the Transportation Research Council tells parents that belts need to fit snugly and seats must be strapped or locked onto the car properly. Otherwise, the safety seats become extra weight to hurtle the child farther down the road.
The VCU safety training center conducted a survey for the Concerned Citizens Advocating Traffic Safety, a Virginia Beach group, and found that of 53 seats examined, only seven were being used properly.
"An improperly used safety seat is just as dangerous as no seat at all," Zanga said. "We need to get parents to be more safety-conscious."
by CNB