THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 30, 1995 TAG: 9511300367
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MATTHEW BOWERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Fewer young children have died in Virginia traffic accidents this year than last. Safety experts attribute the improvement in part to the increased use of child seats - even though hardly anyone installs them right.
Through Sunday, four children under 4 years old had been killed in accidents on state roads, compared to 16 in the same period in 1994, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. That's a 75 percent decrease.
By comparison, overall traffic deaths dropped 3.8 percent, from 833 a year ago to 801 through Nov. 26.
For the decrease in young child deaths, DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb credited increased public awareness about child-safety seats, increased enforcement of laws requiring the seats, and the development of programs where fire departments check seat installation for parents.
DMV and fire officials said more parents are using the seats, which are required under Virginia law for all children under age 4 unless they weigh more than 40 pounds. But 80 to 90 percent of parents don't have the seats tight enough or don't use the proper locking clip to keep them from slipping.
``Most people don't really get into the seat. You have to get a knee in there,'' said Cathy B. Anderson, community relations coordinator for the Virginia Beach Fire Department. ``You essentially need a man's weight to get it in there right.''
Her department last year received a state grant to train its firefighters to inspect and correctly install safety seats. They conduct voluntary checks at fire stations, day-care centers and other sites.
``The people who are coming in - there is almost always something you can change,'' Anderson said.
Martha R. ``Maggie'' Haley, community traffic-safety program supervisor for the DMV in Hampton Roads, also praised hospital programs that instruct new parents in safety-seat use, give loaners and, in some cases, forbid parents from taking their babies home without producing a seat.
``I think definitely there are more people using them. I think hospitals have done a great job in getting information out to new parents,'' Haley said.
Still, Anderson and Haley say they realize that at voluntary installation inspections they're only seeing the parents who care enough to check. Drive down any area road and you still see small children in cars, but not in safety seats.
``You can imagine the people who just throw the child in there helter-skelter,'' Haley said. MEMO: For more information on child-safety seat installation, call the local
DMV office at 363-3929. by CNB