THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9506300504
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
If you plan to drive in North Carolina this holiday weekend, be sure to buckle up your kids.
A child-restraint law goes into effect Saturday, requiring seat belts on all passengers under 12 and child safety seats for anyone younger than 4.
And unlike past revisions to the 13-year-old law, this one applies to all cars - wearing North Carolina license tags or not.
``Since all states have a child restraint law, it makes no sense for any out-of-state cars to be exempt,'' said Ann Ringland, manager for external programs with the Governor's Highway Safety Program in Raleigh.
Legislators closed the loophole for out-of-state motorists last year. The new rule doesn't go into effect until Saturday to allow time for newly affected families to buy the proper equipment.
The latest effort is the General Assembly's third attempt to improve child safety among motorists.
In 1982, only children under 2 who were riding in cars licensed in North Carolina needed to be restrained properly. Drivers in violation could get $10 fines, plus court costs.
All kinds of exemptions were included, such as nursing mothers and cars carrying more passengers than there were seat belts.
Four years later, new rules boosted seat belt coverage to include all drivers and all children under 6. Fines were also raised to $25. A conviction, with court costs, would be about $85.
But out-of-state cars remained excluded, which caused problems in areas with a lot of tourist traffic, such as the Outer Banks.
``Most of the people in North Carolina seem to be complying,'' said First Sgt. A.C. Joyner of the State Highway Patrol in Dare County.
``We've seen far more out-of-state cars that we couldn't take care of - until now.''
Joyner said the most common culprits are cars carrying ``the young kids just old enough to stand up in the seats, and we just see them bouncing up and down.''
Even if a family is just heading out for ice cream, the consequences can be dire if everyone isn't properly strapped in.
``Anytime you have a car and an accident and someone's not buckled in, they become a missile,'' said Renee Hoffman, deputy director of public affairs for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.
``If you've got a child sitting in the back seat and that car is going 55 mph, and you suddenly brake . . . that child's body is still going 55,'' Hoffman said.
Since the original North Carolina child restraint law was enacted in 1982, the average annual injury rate among young children has dropped from 1.74 per 100 children to .98, according to the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.
The numbers translate to a 44 percent overall reduction in fatalities or serious injuries for infants from 1981 to 1993. Injuries among 2 to 5 year olds dropped 23 percent, followed by a 10 percent reduction for ages 6 to 10 and 14 percent decrease for those 11 to 15 years in age, said Bill Tolbert, a research associate with the UNC center.
``The bottom line is the legislation has made a difference,'' he said.
The child restraint regulation is also a primary law in North Carolina, meaning suspected violators can be pulled over solely for failing to belt in young passengers.
Ringland, a mother, knows keeping children happy on long trips can be trying. She recommends bringing soft toys for them to play with and making frequent rest stops.
Hoffman also said some of the larger children's stores and automotive centers have child safety seat rentals.
``Accidents still happen here in North Carolina,'' Joyner said. ``And they can happen to people while they are on vacation.'' MEMO: Anyone seeking more information can call the UNC Highway Research Center
at 1-800-672-4527. by CNB