National Child Passenger Safety Week is Feb. 14-20
16 February 1999
National Child Passenger Safety Week is Feb. 14-20; Parents, Grandparents and Others Advised to Put ``Kids In The Back Seat''
LOS ANGELES--Feb. 16, 1999--Despite air bag safety scares, too many parents are still putting infants in the front seat, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
"In a recent highway safety survey, 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," said Arline Dillman, Auto Club traffic safety expert. "That means as many as 175,000 babies are at serious risk."
Children 12 years and under are safest when properly restrained in the back seat of a vehicle. In fact, they're up to 27 percent safer riding in the back seat, according to the Auto Club. If children must be placed in a front seat, the passenger side airbag should be disabled.
A brochure explaining vehicle purchases and child passenger safety in more detail will be available this spring at the 69 Auto Club district offices.
To remind parents, grandparents, caregivers and other adults that they are responsible for the safe transportation of children, the Auto Club emphasizes the following tips during National Child Passenger Safety Week, Feb. 14-20, for driving youngsters safely:
-- Everyone should buckle up with lap and shoulder belts on every
trip.
-- Infants in rear-facing child safety seats should never ride in
the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag.
-- Small children should ride in a rear seat in child safety
seats approved for their weight and height.
-- Children 12 and under should ride buckled up in the rear seat.
-- Parents and caregivers should check their vehicle owner's
manual and the instructions provided with their child safety seat
for correct use information.
-- Focus on the "forgotten child" -- the children who have
outgrown a child safety seat but are too small to be properly
restrained in a vehicle seat belt (40-80 lbs.). Many parents do
not use booster seats because they are not required by law.
Booster seats are a good option to maximize a child's safety and
comfort.
The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs and legislative advocacy.
Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.
