Driving Home the Issue of Child Seats

Despite heavy public education efforts on use of child car seats, the message isn’t getting across to many new parents.

A task force comprising local police departments has sponsored car-seat inspections in the last year and found that the vast majority of participants don’t know how to properly use the safety seats.

Of the 7,000 parents who took part in the voluntary inspections, about 80% didn’t comply with state safety-seat regulations. The average inspection yielded five errors, which ranged from an improperly secured seat to an obsolete model that should no longer be used.

Some national figures indicate that 90% of seats are installed improperly. Officials say a common problem is that parents often spend less than a minute securing their children, while it should take at least five minutes if done properly.

“Only a handful pass, out of thousands,” said Sheryll Bolton, child-seat specialist for the Buckle Up Orange County Multiagency Task Force.

Because of the grim results, officials are holding more safety inspections, including one at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday as part of Child Passenger Safety Week.

Officials are also considering following Los Angeles County’s example by creating a special school for adults who repeatedly disobey a state law requiring that children ride in car seats until they are at least 4 years old and weigh at least 40 pounds.

Under the law, infants younger than 12 months and weighing less than 20 pounds must face the rear. Violators can be fined up to $271.

Safety experts also urge that children be transported in the back seat, though the law doesn’t require it.

The voluntary inspections are aimed not at penalizing parents but at teaching them how to ensure their children’s safety.

At a recent inspection in Laguna Hills, Kristina Graham brought in two car seats--one for 3-year-old Sammy and another for her soon-to-be-born baby. Going into the inspection, she suspected the older car seat was installed correctly but knew the newer one would require some work.

“I learned a few tricks of the trade,” she said, including how to apply her weight to the safety seat while tightening the belt. “I now feel more confident. The new ones are more complicated now. And the instructions are more trial and error.”

In Los Angeles County, nine courts send parents who violate the child-seat law to SafetyBeltSafe USA, a company that provides two-hour classes. Since 1991, it has trained 30,000 violators, said Cheryl Kim, senior program consultant.

Irvine Police Chief Charles Brobeck, whose department hosted an inspection recently, said he has seen gruesome accidents in which a child was thrown onto the pavement from a vehicle and the child’s safety remained in the car.

“It’s a good start to have these programs and have parents learn how to use the seats properly,” he said.

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SPOTLIGHT / Safety Check: Child Car Seats

Child passengers must be buckled into child safety seats until they are four years old and weigh 40 pounds. Most parents willingly comply, but many are using the seats incorrectly. More than 80% of the seats inspected at safety seminars are improperly installed, with an average of two errors per seat. Installation guidelines, a look at common errors and a new law designed to simplify installation:

Infant Car Seat/Carrier

For infants up to 20 pounds

Installation

* Center of back seat, facing rear of vehicle.

* Harness threaded through slots below shoulder level (behind infant)

* Harness adjusted so only one adult finger fits underneath the straps at chest.

* Harness retainer clip at armpit level

* Seat at center of car’s back seat

* Seat should tilt back at a 45-degree angle. A rolled up towel may help to achieve this angle.

Convertible Seat

For older babies and toddlers up to 40 pounds

Installation

* Children less than 20 pounds and about one year old: Center of back seat facing the rear, with harness threaded through slots below shoulders.

* Children over 20 pounds and more than a year old: Place in center of back seat facing forwards in upright position. Thread harness through slots above shoulders.

* Harness adjusted so only one adult finger fits underneath the straps at chest.

* Harness retainer clip at armpit level

COMMON ERRORS

* Safety belt not holding seat tightly

* Child turned forward facing before reaching age 1

* Harness straps not snug

* Harness straps not routed correctly

* Locking clip not used correctly

* Car seat recalled and not repaired

New Law

A new federal law to be phased in over the next five years requires auto makers to install standard child-seat anchors into the back of cars. However it is expected to take 10 to 20 years before the majority of cars on the road are fitted with the new system.

Some attachment alternatives:

Top tether strap

Metal bar to anchor child seat

Flexible anchor attachment

Rigid anchor attachment

Air Bag Issue

Children under 12 should never ride in the front seat of a car equipped with air bags. The bags, designed to protect average-sized adults, deploy with great force and have killed and injured a number of small adults and children.

Installation seminars

* Orange County Buckle Up: (714) 834-5889

* Orange County Health Care Agency: (714) 796-8295

More Information

* National Safe Kids Campaign: free video and brochure (800) 441-1888

* Auto Safety Hotline (800)-424-9393: Installation tips and information on car seat recalls

* American Academy of Pediatrics web site: https://www.aap.org

Installation tips, information on securing older children

* National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration web site: https://www.nhtsa.dot.gov : Illustrated installation guidelines

Graphics reporting by JANICE JONES DODDS/Los Angeles Times

Sources: Sheryll Bolton, Orange County Health Care Agency; American Academy of Pediatics, National Transportation Safety Administration