Grandparents Lag in Car-Seat Safety

As Grandparents Day was celebrated Sunday, Gardena-based Nissan North America Inc. released the unsettling results of its latest car-safety survey:

One of five grandparents say they never strap their grandchildren into child-safety seats when the youngsters are passengers in their cars, the poll found.

That’s worrisome, considering that 40% of the grandparents surveyed said their grandchildren, ages 8 or younger, rode with them at least three times a month.

The responses reflect a generation gap, consumer-safety advocates said.

“Many grandparents don’t have their own child restraints, and the parents are not insisting that they take the seat along with the child,” said Stephanie Tombrello, executive director of Torrance-based SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. “If grandparents are given the right education and assistance, they will do better.”

More than 282,000 children each year are injured in car crashes. Used properly, car seats can reduce the risk of death by 69% for infants and by 47% for toddlers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says.

Nissan has bankrolled a series of free child-safety seat-checkup events and publishes a brochure with information about car seats.

The company is sponsoring SafetyBeltSafe’s car-seat demonstrations at the Southern California Baby Expo ’99 at the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 2.

Consumers can get the brochure by calling (800) 955-4500 and requesting “The What to Expect Guide to Car Seat Safety” or by visiting the company’s Web site, https://www.nissan-na.com.