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Child safety seats, risk of death in crashes and seat belts
Young children involved in car crashes may have a greater chance of survival if secured in a child restraint system, such as a safety seat than if buckled only in a seat belt.
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Protect the ones you love.
The Progressive Insurance Newsletter  
 October 2007

Dear Friends,

Car accidents, the most common cause of injury and death in children, are also the most common cause of spinal cord injury in children and adolescents. Boys are more affected than girls, and the incidence increases with age.

Seatbelts save lives, and stronger seatbelt laws increase seatbelt use. Research from the United States shows that children age 4 to 7 in states with booster seat laws appear more likely to be appropriately restrained during car crashes than children in states without booster seat laws. Additionally unbelted backseat passengers risk injury or death to themselves and the driver seated in front of them in the event of a head-on crash.

Children fare better in side-impact crashes if they are restrained and if they are seated with other occupants in the back seat. The protective benefits of high back booster seats in these crashes for 4-to 8-year-olds, are important.

The use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers significantly the risk of injury to children in crashes compared to the use of vehicle seat belts especially for children of ages 4 through 7.

You will find more information on this interesting topic in the article Child safety seats, risk of death in crashes and seat belts that you will find attached with our 57th Progressive Newsletter.

According to the CDC of the United States, all children ages 12 years and younger should ride in the back seat. This eliminates the injury risk of deployed front passenger-side airbags and places children in the safest part of the vehicle in the event of a crash. Overall, for children less than 16 years, riding in the back seat is associated with a 40% reduction in the risk of serious injury.

Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children in many countries. But a large proportion of these deaths can be prevented. Placing children in age- and size-appropriate restraint systems reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half.

So take the necessary steps and protect the ones you love.


Takis A. Haggiandreou
Director
 

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Compared with seat belts alone, child safety seats are associated with a significant reduction in risk of death in car accidents.

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"No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required, that determines the greatness of ultimate distinction."

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Consumer Product Safety Commission

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

National Safety Council

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U.S. Fire Administration

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety