Safe Equals Buckled, in the Back

If you’ve witnessed an unusual number of police traffic stops over the past week, here’s the reason. It’s a safety measure and it’s sensible. The cops want to be sure that your infants are snug in child safety seats in the back and that your older children are buckled up as well. The Memorial Day holiday carries somber memories. Let’s not add any.

The policy wonks in Washington have come up with a typically verbose title for the program: Operation ABC Mobilization, America Buckles up Children. Thirty of the nation’s governors, including Gray Davis, have joined with local and state law enforcement, the federal government, the National Safety Council and the Air Bag & Seatbelt Safety Campaign to declare war on motoring parents who leave their children unprotected.

“We want to elevate this to the level of disdain people feel about drunk drivers,” said Janet Goss, spokeswoman for the Air Bag & Seatbelt Safety Campaign.

The reasons are compelling. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among American children, federal statistics show. It’s already a crime to fail to properly buckle up your child. But 60% of the children killed in vehicular accidents in America are not wearing seat belts. The safety message has not gotten through to enough parents.

By now most Americans should know that it is dangerous to place infants in rear-facing safety seats on the front seat; they might be hit by the explosive release of the air bag. Yet even basic rules like this are sometimes not followed. There are still parents who think their kids are safest when they are being held by Mom or Dad. In fact, the physics of a crash mean that embracing your child is like trying to hold onto a flying cannonball.

Buckling up your children is part of being a responsible parent. Make sure you’ve done all you can to protect them.