Tragedies Spark Renewed Calls for Child Car Safety : Driving: This month, the county saw the largest number of deaths and injuries to children who were not restrained in seats or by belts in recent memory.

Despite the increasing threat of prosecution, car-seat rental programs and increased citations for breaking California’s mandatory car-seat laws, many parents still do not restrain their young passengers when driving, authorities say.

Estimates range from 30% for parents who leave children unbuckled when driving on the freeway, to 80% who do so when riding on local streets. The excuses, they say, rarely involve ignorance, but range instead from denial to laziness.

This month, Orange County saw a rash of deaths and injuries to children who were not restrained in car seats or by seat belts, the largest number in recent memory, police say.

On Jan. 18, a 2-year-old boy and his 7-year-old brother were thrown from their father’s station wagon and killed in an Orange intersection. Police are still investigating the accident.

The next day, another 2-year-old boy, held on his mother’s lap, was thrown into a dashboard and killed in a similar collision in Anaheim.

On Thursday, a 2-month-old, held by her mother in the back seat, was critically injured in a collision in Costa Mesa. The driver of the car fled the scene.

No charges have yet been filed in any of these cases. While many officials are reluctant to prosecute grieving parents, more jurisdictions are seeking criminal charges, such as manslaughter, against drivers who violate the car-seat laws when a small child is killed in an accident.

Costa Mesa traffic investigator Steven Rautus said that if the baby in the Costa Mesa crash dies, he will ask the district attorney to consider a criminal prosecution of the driver, who is unrelated to the baby.

In California, every child under 4 or who weighs less than 40 pounds must be restrained in a federally approved car seat.

Drivers may be stopped and ticketed for violations with fines ranging from $100 to $300. To adequately answer the ticket, some California courts are requiring proof of purchase of a car seat and some are also beginning to send car-seat violators to classes.

The tragedies have prompted renewed calls for greater education by activists for car-seat and seat-belt usage.

While more people are using car seats and police are giving more tickets than ever before, “it’s obviously not enough,” said Julie Wedertz, executive director of the Orange County Trauma Society, which rents and periodically gives away car seats to needy families. “We need more programs, more education, more car seats. They need to know the law, and the law needs to be enforced.”

If child restraints were used, 71% of deaths and 66% of injuries of children in traffic collisions could be prevented, she said.

In observational surveys on local streets, where most fatalities occur, advocates have found that most small children are unrestrained.

Authorities agree it is not for ignorance of the law. “It’s not uncommon if you stop a violator, they’ll hook it up right away before the officer approaches the car,” said Lt. Jack Parra of the Anaheim Police Department. “People know they are supposed to wear seat belts.”

Last year, Cheryl Kim, program consultant for SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. in Los Angeles, conducted a survey at a Kids-Day-in-the-Park program in Downey. “Eighty percent of the kids coming into the parking lot were loose,” she said. “We’ve also done surveys at public health clinics where we found under 13% were buckled up.”

Most scofflaws say they do not believe that a fatal accident could happen to them, she said. The second most popular excuse is that they are unable to discipline their children. Authorities say car-seat use is very high with infants but declines as toddlers reach ages 2 and 3.

“You can tell (the children) started saying, ‘No,’ and the parents didn’t know what to do about it,” Kim said. “We think it is a parenting issue.”

Costa Mesa’s traffic investigator Rautus said violators have often told him that their child wouldn’t stop crying until they took him out of the car seat. “I explain a crying kid is better than a kid going through the windshield or hitting the driver.”

Kim said another serious problem is that even when parents use car seats, most of them are not installed correctly, and many seats are defective and have been recalled.

Parents may call SafetyBeltSafe at (213) 673-2666 for car-seat checks, information or to obtain a four-page recall list. They may also call to receive a “spotters form” to report a driver with unrestrained children. Registered drivers receive a warning letter from the CHP.

Car seats have been required for children since 1983; seat belts for all passengers since 1986.

Under current California law, police may stop and ticket drivers if their passengers are either under 4 years old or weigh 40 pounds or less and are not restrained in a federally approved car seat.

Generally, officers may cite anyone not wearing a seat belt if they stop the driver for another traffic violation.

The consequences range from a warning to fines of $100 to over $300, depending on a driver’s record, police said.

Both citations and seat-belt use have increased since the initial mandatory use laws in 1983, authorities said. California has the third highest seat-belt usage on highways, with 70.7%, following Maryland, 72% and Hawaii, 85%.

Hawaii’s usage is higher because authorities may stop and ticket drivers for seat-belt violations alone, said Sam Haynes, CHP public affairs officer in Sacramento.

CHP citations for child safety seats have gone up from 15,473 in 1987 to 24,161 in 1991. “We wish all municipal police departments would be that productive,” Kim said.

In some states, authorities have attempted to make parents more responsible by prosecuting as vehicular manslaughter those cases in which unrestrained children were killed in car crashes. So far, few have gone to trial and none have been convicted.

Prosecuting grieving parents is what one traffic investigator called a “real heart-string situation” that is distasteful even to some seat-belt advocates.

“People have to live with it the rest of their lives,” Irvine Police Lt. Bob Lennert said. “I don’t think we’d get a filing on manslaughter on a seat-belt violation. I don’t think public opinion would allow it.”

Kim said her organization avoids getting involved with the issue of sending parents to jail.

“We focus on the child. . . . Parents must be required to do the proper thing,” she said. “When people talk about the pain and suffering of the parent, we talk about the pain and suffering of the child.”

Some courts are also beginning to send car-seat violators to classes put on by SafetyBeltSafe, Kim said. The program is being piloted in Downey Municipal Court and will soon follow in Glendale and Rio Hondo, she said. The classes consist of seeing dummies in car crashes and other motivational information, she said.

Wedertz said she would like to see more traffic officers provide violators with informational flyers on what the law is and where to obtain affordable car seats. She said the trauma society will be giving away 100 car seats to needy families beginning Feb. 15. More information may be obtained by calling (714) 282-4573.

Parents who have not buckled in their children on every ride and whose children are still alive should consider themselves lucky, she said. “Their luck will run out some day. They should make it a habit and a rule in the house that everyone should be restrained on every ride from this day on. If it means being late, take the time.

“Tomorrow when the car accident has happened and the child is in the hospital or the child is dead, that function won’t mean much.

“It’s worth taking the time and thinking about the consequences.”

Child Car Safety Myths and Facts

Myth: In a low-speed crash, you can protect an infant by holding the baby.

Fact: Most crashes are unexpected, allowing less than half a second for reaction. Reaction time of most adults is three-fourths of a second--too slow. And a 10-pound baby in a 30-m.p.h. crash would exert a force of 200 pounds.

Myth: Children can be saved if they are thrown clear of a vehicle in a crash.

Fact: A person is four times more likely to be killed and 13 times more likely to be seriously injured in a crash if ejected.

Myth: If there are not enough safety belts in a car, it’s safe for two children to share one.

Fact: Two people, even if they are small, should never share one belt. Crash impact can cause one to strike the other, causing more injuries.

Myth: Even if a child safety seat has been in a crash, it can be used again as long as it has no visible cracks.

Fact: It should be replaced, because it may have hidden damage that could cause failure in a second accident.

Myth: Safety seats and belts need not be used except on longer drives.

Fact: Not true; 70% of motor vehicle accidents occur within 25 miles of home.

Source: National Safe Kids Campaign

Infant Motor Vehicle Fatalities

Between 1988 and the end of September, 1991, 10 children younger than 5 years were killed in Orange County car accidents. Of these, six were not restrained by safety equipment. The comparable numbers statewide are even more dramatic:

ORANGE COUNTY STATEWIDE SAFETY EQUIPMENT SAFETY EQUIPMENT Year Using Not Using Total Using Not Using Total 1991* 1 2 3 11 53 64 1990 0 1 1 13 58 71 1989 1 1 2 12 38 50 1988 2 2 4 30 58 88

* January-September; most recent information available

Source: California Highway Patrol