Car Safety

Recently I have been reading some articles concerning car safety and what we can do to prevent many accidents and injuries. According to one article, as many as four out of five child car seats are installed or used incorrectly. In one survey, 85% of the car seats were misused and had an average of two installation errors per seat. Here are some helpful hints for using car seats:

- Read and follow car seat manufacturer and vehicle installation instructions. Some vehicles require additional hardware for proper use.

- Make sure the seat does not move easily forward and down or side to side

- Have your seat checked at a community car seat check up. You'll find a listing at www.safekids.org

So why do we worry about all this information anyway? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, when used correctly car seats are 71 % effective in reducing fatalities, 67% effective in reducing the need for hospitalization, and 50 % effective in preventing minor injuries. What more could be said? ( NHTSA and The National SAFE KIDS Campaign)

Along this same line, according to the National Safety Council, traffic incidents are the foremost cause of accidental deaths. The leading factors that contribute to crashes are driver distraction, failure to yield the right of way, and unsafe speeds. Here are some related facts:

- Crashes kill 40,000 people each year in the U.S. and injure more than two million.

- Traffic crashes on-the-job have increased nearly 20% in the past five years and are the leading cause of work related deaths.

- The National Safety Council estimates that traffic related on-the-job injuries cost society $127.7 billion last year.

Submitted by Larry Wickham, Wellness Committee