Poster mom for child safety

When pop star Britney Spears was caught on camera illegally holding her infant son in her lap while driving her SUV last week, her reckless faux pas likely did more to spotlight child safety than any politician or advocate could have dreamed.

The Malibu incident and consequent public outcry over Spears’ behavior surprised even seasoned auto safety advocates. Although Spears certainly isn’t the only parent to fail to properly restrain her child in a car seat, she nevertheless has become the poster mom for this week’s National Child Passenger Safety Week.

Stephanie Stombrello of SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., a national nonprofit organization that promotes child auto safety, says that if Spears’ SUV had collided with another vehicle, the pop star’s 5-month-old son could have been crushed against the steering wheel. “It’s ironic that a child born into such a secure environment, financially and socially, would be put at greater risk than the average child today in society,” Stombrello said.

“Of all the children killed in automobile accidents every year, about half are completely unrestrained,” says Dr. Dennis Durbin, an emergency room pediatric physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California, adds: “A baby riding in the front seat is an invitation to tragedy.”

In California, 282 children under age 6 were killed in traffic accidents from 2001 to mid-2005, according to the California Highway Patrol. Of the children killed, 63% were not restrained.

Despite the laws and information available on restraining children in vehicles, not everyone is getting the message, particularly those from “lower socioeconomic and non-English-speaking populations,” Durbin says.

In Spears’ case, you could say that even the rich and famous may not be getting the message.

California law requires that, with few exceptions, children must ride in a safety seat in the back until they are age 6, or weigh 60 pounds. Under vehicle code 27360.5, violators who fail to properly restrain any child can be fined $100, plus court costs of up to $200.

Violators will also receive one point on their driving record, which can affect insurance rates, and could be ordered to attend a safety education program. The fine can be reduced or waived if the defendant proves economic disadvantage.

Sgt. Paul Patterson said the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is not investigating the incident. Authorities said that because officers did not witness the incident, it would be more difficult to issue a citation.

In a statement after the photos surfaced, Spears blamed the incident on the paparazzi. “Today I had a horrifying, frightful encounter with the paparazzi while I was with my baby. Because of a recent incident when I was trapped in my car without my baby by a throng of paparazzi, I was terrified that this time the physically aggressive paparazzi would put both me and my baby in danger. I instinctively took measures to get my baby and me out of harm’s way.... I love my child and I would do anything to protect him,” she explained in a statement to People magazine.

“I made a mistake, and so it is what it is, I guess,” Spears later told “Access Hollywood.”

But after seeing a photo and press accounts, her excuse seems rather flimsy. If she was so terrified, why didn’t her bodyguard step in?

Spears said that her son had been in a car seat, but that she had moved him to the front seat while her bodyguard was in Starbucks getting drinks. Spears’ publicist did not return a call requesting comment.

Durbin, a principal investigator and author of a comprehensive study on children and motor vehicle crashes, points out that holding a child in the front seat of a vehicle with an air bag puts him or her at significant risk of being seriously injured if the air bag deploys or if the child is ejected from the vehicle.

And although most parents keep their children restrained in vehicles, there are many who think the unthinkable will never happen, says Stombrello.

“I tell parents not to take crying babies out of their car seat to comfort them,” the safety advocate said. “If there’s an accident, it could be the last time they ever hear their child cry again.”

Jeanne Wright can be reached at jeanrite@aol.com.