New Survey Reveals Infants Continue to be Placed in Harm's Way
16 July 1998
New Survey Reveals Infants Continue to be Placed in Harm's Way Despite Universal Awareness of Risks Air Bags Pose to Children; As Many as 175,000 Infants Continue to be Placed in Danger in the Front Seat WASHINGTON, July 16 -- Ninety-nine percent of parents with
children under age one say they have heard about the risks air bags pose to
children. Although most have heard and are heeding the warnings, alarmingly,
11 percent of parents who regularly transport an infant in a vehicle equipped
with a passenger air bag continue to place babies in the front seat --
amounting to as many as 175,000 babies at serious risk. That's according to a
survey released today by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign.
While the overall rate of child deaths associated with air bags has
declined in the last two years by 50 percent, and there are encouraging signs
that more drivers are properly restraining children in the back seat, too many
children are continuing to die. Infants under one year of age account for
roughly one in 12 of the children at risk; yet they account for about one in
five of the child deaths. To date, according to the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigations, of the 63 children who died in
crashes involving air bags, 13 were babies riding in infant seats in the
vehicle's front seat.
"Infants should never, ever ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a
passenger air bag," said Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag & Seat
Belt Safety Campaign. "An air bag comes out of the dashboard in the blink of
an eye with great force. Riding up front in a rear-facing infant seat, a
baby's fragile head and neck are always too close to the deploying air bag in
the event of a crash."
The survey also reveals that drivers who don't wear their seat belts are
50 percent more likely to improperly restrain babies than are drivers who wear
seat belts. In addition, drivers most likely to place their babies at risk
tend to be younger, have less formal education and live in the South.
In addition, the research shows that parents are more likely to follow
proper safety procedures as their children age: Fully one quarter of parents
incorrectly place infants ages one to three months old in the front seat,
while only eight percent put ten- to 12-month-old infants in the front seat.
Investigations indicate almost all of the infants who died from air bag
related injuries were five months old or younger.
"These infant deaths are a tragedy, but they are preventable," said
Ricardo Martinez, M.D., Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. "Changing behavior is a public health challenge that requires
multiple approaches by many partners. Parents need to hear this message
repeatedly from professionals whom they trust and come to correctly understand
the risks."
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign and NHTSA are conducting
aggressive outreach to new and expectant parents through organizations like
the American Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the
American College of Nurse-Midwives, Lamaze, the American Association of Health
Plans, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, the
National Association of WIC Directors and many others.
The survey also shows that 20 percent of parents with and without air bag
equipped vehicles report improperly restraining their infants -- 15 percent
report putting infants in the front seat and five percent report that they do
not put infants in an infant safety seat at all. Crashes are the leading
cause of death to children and the back seat is the safest place for children
to ride. With or without an air bag -- nearly 800,000 infants are at
increased risk in a crash.
"We think some parents believe the risk of not seeing a baby is greater
than the risk of injury in a crash. That's just wrong," said Joseph R. Zanga,
M.D., FAAP, American Academy of Pediatrics President. "Parents must
understand that automobile crashes are the leading cause of injury to
children. The safest way for pre-adolescent children to ride -- including
babies -- is properly restrained in the back seat."
The risks air bags pose to children are entirely eliminated when children
ride properly restrained in the back seat. Crashes are the leading cause of
death to children. With or without an air bag, children are safer in the
back. Studies show that, even in vehicles without air bags, the death rate to
children drops by one third when kids ride properly restrained in the back
seat.
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, the American Academy of
Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration remind all
drivers to follow these safety guidelines:
* Infants should never ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a
passenger air bag;
* Babies should ride in rear-facing infant seats in the back seat until
age one AND at least 22 pounds;
* All children 12 and under should ride properly restrained in the back
seat in age- and size-appropriate child safety seats;
* Parents should check their vehicle owner's manual and the instructions
provided with their child safety seat for correct use information.
This was a study of 200 parents of infants conducted by Public Opinion
Strategies March 19-23, 1998 and has a margin of error of +/- 6.9 percent in
95 out of 100 cases.
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign is a public/private partnership of
automotive manufacturers, insurance companies, child safety seat
manufacturers, occupant restraint manufacturers, government agencies, health
professionals and child health and safety organizations. The goal of the
Campaign is to increase the proper use of safety belts and child safety seats
and to inform the public about how to maximize the lifesaving capabilities of
air bags while minimizing the risks.
