Air Bags

Now considered a standard component of any car or truck, air bags are proven life-savers. According to the Natinoal Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), since 1990, 6,377 lives were saved by air bags. However, air bags were not designed for children. Between 1993 and 2002, 159 children under the age of 12 were killed by passenger air bags.

Approximately 69.0 percent of all children killed by passenger air bags were unrestrained, and 29.6 percent were improperly restrained at the time of the incident.

In 2005, approximately 1,400 children ages 14 and under were killed as occupants in motor vehicle accidents - and nearly 50% of those were not using safety restraints. Vehicle accidents were, as a result, the leading injury-related killer of children ages 14 and under.

Prevention

 The first step is proper restraints. If you're not properly belted into the vehicle, the risk of injury in the event of an acident goes up. To prevent air bag-related injuries and deaths to children, the NHTSA sugests that all children ages 12 and under be properly restrained in the back seat of a car.

All child safety seats should be properly installed and used according to the manufacturer's instructions. As your child grows, you'll need to be flexible in managing their safety. Here are some tips:

• Infants, until at least 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds should remain rear-facing, semi-reclined in an infant seat or convertible car seat in the back seat of the car. Infants should remain rearfacing as long as possible.
• Children over 20 pounds and age 1 and who can no longer remain rearfacing should be secured in a forward-facing child safety seat in the back seat of the car.
• Children from 40 to 80 pounds and under 4' 9" in height should use a "booster" seat (usually until around age 8). The best choice is a seat that can be secured with a lap/shoulder belt in the back seat of the car.
• When children outgrow the booster seat they should ride in the car with a lap/shoulder belt fitting comfortably across the center of the chest and low across the hips.

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