Putting Children First

National Transportation Safety Board

490 L’Enfant Plaza, S.W.

NTSB/SR-00/02 Washington, D.C. 20594
National Transportation Safety Board. 2000. Putting Children First. Safety Report NTSB/SR-00/02.

Washington, DC.

Abstract: This document focuses on what has been and what still needs to be done to protect

children from death or injury in transportation-related crashes. The following issues areas are

examined:

• Air bags and children

• Permanent child safety seat fitting stations

• Child occupant protection laws 

• Car designs that focus on children

• School transportation for children

• Passenger vans used for school activities

• Zero alcohol tolerance for drivers under age 21

• Graduated driver licensing for new and novice drivers

• Recreational boating safety

• Child restraints in aviation

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal agency dedicated to promoting aviation,

railroad, highway, marine, pipeline, and hazardous materials safety. Established in 1967, the agency is mandated by

Congress through the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974 to investigate transportation accidents, determine the

probable causes of the accidents, issue safety recommendations, study transportation safety issues, and evaluate the

safety effectiveness of government agencies involved in transportation. The Safety Board makes public its actions

and decisions through accident reports, safety studies, special investigation reports, safety recommendations, and

statistical reviews.

Recent publications are available in their entirety on the Web at <http://www.ntsb.gov>. Other information about

available publications also may be obtained from the Web site or by contacting:

National Transportation Safety Board

Public Inquiries Section, RE-51

490 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20594

(800) 877-6799 or (202) 314-6551

Safety Board publications such as accident reports and safety studies may be purchased, by individual copy or by

subscription, from the National Technical Information Service. 

National Technical Information Service

5285 Port Royal Road

Springfield, Virginia 22161

(800) 553-6847 or (703) 605-6000
i Putting Children First

Dear Readers:

The National Transportation Safety Board’s mission is to

investigate crashes in all modes of transportation and issue safety

recommendations to prevent future similar occurrences. Many Americans

know about the Safety Board because of its high media profile when

investigators probe catastrophic aviation accidents. The Safety Board also

investigates crashes in other transportation modes, including highway, rail,

maritime, pipeline, and hazardous materials. This document focuses on

what has been and what still needs to be done to protect children—our

most precious resource—from death or injury in transportation-related

crashes.

One of my responsibilities as Chairman of the Safety Board has

been to meet transportation accident survivors and victims’ families and
ii Putting Children First

friends during very stressful times in their lives. I spend a lot of time

listening to their concerns about protecting themselves and their families

when they travel. They all emphasize that they don’t want another family

to endure a similar tragedy.

Many of my conversations are with parents whose children have

died in traffic crashes. They all tell me the same thing. They are frustrated

at how difficult it is to ensure the safety of their children when traveling by

automobile. They are right to be concerned. In the 1990s, more children

were hurt and killed in highway accidents than anywhere else.

Here are the grim highway statistics for the last decade:

• More than 90,000 children, infants to teenagers, were killed in motor

vehicle crashes, and over 9 million were injured.

• Almost 17,000 children under age 10 died in motor vehicle crashes, an

average of 32 children each week.

• Over 15,000 children between ages 10 and 15 died in motor vehicle

crashes; on average, 29 children each week.

• Over 63,000 children between ages 15 and 20 died in traffic crashes, more

than 122 each week.

• Six out of 10 children who died were not buckled up.

• The vast majority of children under age 8 who are buckled up are

improperly restrained.

• Ten times more children ride in the front seat of the car than need to (this

means a back seat is available for them), even though the back seat is

safer than the front seat.

Americans react with horror at random acts of violence that take the

lives of innocent children. They demand action when a child is killed in a

school firearms incident. In 1997, 191 children under age 10 died in

firearms-related actions. That same year, 1,784 children under age 10 died

in highway crashes. Although highway crashes are the leading cause of

death for children in this country, we do not hear a nationwide outcry every

time a young girl or boy dies in a traffic crash. Clearly, the most dangerous

place we take our children is on America’s highways. Highway tragedies

do not discriminate by age, race, or ethnic background. Every child is

vulnerable.

That’s why the Safety Board is working hard to change the way the

Nation thinks about the safety of the smallest passengers and to move the

Nation towards a child-safe culture. The Safety Board urges every citizen

and every level of government to foster a safety culture that puts child

transportation safety at the top of the safety agenda. One level of safety,

the highest possible level, should be provided for all children in every State

and in every mode of transportation. 
iii Putting Children First

This publication outlines many of the tragic lessons learned from

accidents involving children as well as the recent changes that have been

made to prevent future accidents. It also discusses many of the child safety

challenges the Safety Board believes still need to be addressed. We have

made progress in the past few years, but there is much more to be done. It

is time to stop the tragic and unnecessary loss of our youngest citizens on

our highways.

Jim Hall, Acting Chairman

National Transportation Safety Board

November 2000

v Putting Children First

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Air Bags and Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Permanent Child Safety Seat Fitting Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Child Restraint Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Designing Cars for Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

School Transportation for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Passenger Vans Used for School Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Minimum Drinking Age and Zero Alcohol Tolerance Laws 

for Drivers Under Age 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Young Drivers: Graduated Driver Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Child Safety in Recreational Boating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Child Safety in Aviation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

More Safety Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

1 Putting Children First

Introduction

Many Americans know that the National Transportation Safety Board is on call 24

hours a day, 365 days a year and that its staff travel to every corner of the world to

investigate accidents. What is less known is what results from these investigations. The

goal of every investigation is to find the reason for the accident and to try to prevent it

from happening again. Therefore, the Safety Board’s most important contributions are its

recommendations to government and industry. Since Congress created the Safety Board

in 1967, more than 100 recommendations have been made suggesting ways to improve the

safety of America’s children on highways, on waterways, and in the air. This report

discusses the Safety Board’s recommendations in the following areas of child

transportation safety:

• Air bags and children

• Permanent child safety seat fitting stations

• Child occupant protection laws 

• Car designs that focus on children

• School transportation for children

• Passenger vans used for school activities

• Zero alcohol tolerance for drivers under age 21

• Graduated driver licensing for new and novice drivers

• Recreational boating safety

• Child restraints in aviation

“Use of personal flotation devices by children on 

recreational boats and personal watercraft will 

save lives.” 

Board Member

John Hammerschmidt
Introduction 2 Putting Children First

A history of some of the major activities by the Safety Board to promote child

transportation safety is outlined below.

1983 Child Passenger Protection Against Death, Disability, and 

Disfigurement in Motor Vehicle Accidents (report)

1985 Child Passenger Safety Symposium: Ways to Increase Use and 

Decrease Misuse of Child Restraints (report)

1987 Crashworthiness of Large Poststandard School Buses (report)

1989 Crashworthiness of Small Poststandard School Buses (report)

1991 Recommendation Letter on Belt Positioning Booster Seats

1995 Urgent Recommendations on the Dangers that Air Bags Pose to Kids

Recommendation Letter on Child Restraint Use on Aircraft

1996 The Performance and Use of Child Restraint Systems, Seat Belts, 

and Air Bags for Children in Passenger Vehicles (report)

1997 Public Forum on Air Bags and Child Passenger Safety (proceedings)

“Child safety seats should be simple for parents 

and caregivers to use and the instructions should be 

easy to follow and understand.”

Board Member

John Goglia
Introduction 3 Putting Children First

1999 Recommendation Letter on Establishment of Fitting Stations

Speech on Designing Cars for Children Highlighting 1996 

Recommendations

Meeting on Simplifying the Design of Child Safety Seats

Pupil Transportation in Vehicles not Meeting Federal School Bus 

Standards (report)

Bus Crashworthiness Special Investigation (report)

Meeting on the Use of Child Restraint Systems on Aircraft

“The most difficult crashes, emotionally, to investigate

are those that involve children.”

Board Member

George Black
Introduction 4 Putting Children First

2000 Recreational Boating Safety Initiative for Children

Speech to the Southern Legislative Conference on Child 

Transportation Safety Improvements Needed in the South

Meeting on the Need for Booster Seats for Use with Lap-only 

Seat Belts

Establishment of Child Transportation Safety Web Page 

<http://www.ntsb.gov>

Child Passenger Safety Video

“Everything from coffee pots to carry-on luggage 

is secured during airplane take off and landing— 

why not infants and 1-year-old children?” 

Board Member

Carol Carmody
5 Putting Children First

Air Bags and Children

The Problem

In September 1995, a 1994 mid-size car driven by a 26-year-old woman failed to

stop for a red light at an intersection and collided with a 1985 compact car. The air bags in

the 1994 vehicle deployed at impact, causing minor injuries to the driver. The passengerside air bag struck the back of the rear-facing child restraint system positioned in the right

front passenger seat, breaking it in several places and killing the 5-month-old child in the

restraint. A 3-year-old seated in a shield booster seat in the right rear seating position was

not injured. All occupants of the other vehicle were wearing their lap/shoulder belts. The

driver and the 10-year-old child who was seated in the right rear seating position sustained

minor injuries. The adult occupying the right front seat was not injured.

This crash demonstrates the dangers of air bags to small children. Air bags, like

seat belts, were designed to protect a 170-pound adult male. They were not designed with

children in mind.

Lessons Learned

The Safety Board documented that air bags can kill or critically injure children in

accidents that would have been survivable had the air bag not deployed. The insufficient

distance between the restraint system and the inflating air bag, in combination with the

speed and force at which an air bag can inflate, can be lethal to children. A deploying

passenger-side air bag strikes the child in the head and neck as opposed to the upper torso

where it typically contacts adults. Designing and certifying a system to protect all

occupants using only an average-sized adult male dummy has had tragic results for

children.

In 1996, the Safety Board completed a study on the performance and use of child

restraint systems, seat belts, and air bags for children in passenger vehicles. The study

analyzed data from 120 vehicle crashes that occurred between 1994 and 1996. Vehicle

occupants included 207 children under age 11. Air bags deployed in 13 crashes in which a

child was seated in the front passenger seat. In 7 of the 13 crashes, the child was either

killed or critically injured by contact with the air bag.
Air Bags and Children 6 Putting Children First

The Safety Board convened a public forum in March 1997 to discuss concerns

related to the effectiveness of air bags and ways to increase seat belt and child restraint

use. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) participated, along

with representatives from Australia, Canada, and Europe, the automobile industry, air bag

suppliers, insurance companies, safety and consumer groups, and family members

involved in crashes in which air bags deployed.

As a result of its study and public forum, the Safety Board issued a series of safety

recommendations in 1995, 1996, and 1997 on the dangers that air bags pose to small

children. The Safety Board recommended that NHTSA, safety advocates, and automakers

address air bag safety education and research, and advanced air bag technology, and that

they revise air bag performance standards.

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• The automobile industry sent letters and warning labels to owners of 60 million

cars currently on the road that are equipped with air bags, advising the owners

about the dangers that air bags pose to children.

• NHTSA required highly visible and permanent warning labels about the

dangers that air bags pose to children in all newly manufactured air bagequipped vehicles and on child restraint systems, effective February 1997.

• NHTSA and the automobile and insurance industries initiated an air bag safety

campaign in May 1996. The goal of the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety

Campaign, as it is known today, is to educate the public about the importance

of putting children in the back seats of vehicles with air bags, buckling up

everyone in the car, strengthening State seat belt use laws, and increasing

enforcement of the laws.

• Since May 1997, automobile manufacturers have been permitted to install

depowered air bags in newly manufactured vehicles. This change is a first step

to reduce the risk of air bag-induced injuries to children, short-statured adults,

and senior citizen occupants.

• Certain at-risk occupants now can apply for permission from NHTSA to install

on-off switches for one or both front air bags.

• In May 2000, NHTSA established performance criteria for advanced air bags

that will be safe for occupants of all ages and sizes.

• Child passenger safety literature now advises that children age 12 and under

ride in the back seat of a vehicle that has front passenger air bags.
7 Putting Children First

Permanent Child Safety Seat Fitting Stations

The Problem

In January 1999, a young mother was driving with her 7-month-old son in the back

seat in a forward-facing child safety seat. As she made a left turn, she collided with a

school bus traveling in the opposite direction. The car spun around, striking two other

vehicles. The infant was ejected from the car and killed. The mother survived with

moderate injuries.

The mother thought she had done everything possible to protect her child. Safety

Board investigators learned that the child safety seat was installed in the car correctly, but

the child had not been properly secured in the seat. The shoulder straps were improperly

positioned, the wrong latch position was used, and the shoulder strap clip was too low.

Courtesy DaimlerChrysler
Fitting Stations 8 Putting Children First

Lessons Learned

The Safety Board’s 1996 study on child passenger safety examined whether child

restraint systems were properly used, and found that in 62 percent of the cases, the

restraint was improperly secured in the vehicle and/or the child was improperly secured in

the child restraint. This high level of child safety seat misuse was consistent with the

findings of both a 1983 Safety Board report and a 1985 Safety Board symposium on child

restraint misuse.

Problems encountered in using child safety seats include seat belts misrouted

around the safety seat or left too loose, locking clips not used on seat belts as needed, child

restraints facing the wrong direction (usually forward-facing rather than rear-facing), and

the safety seat harness adjusted too loosely, inappropriately threaded through the wrong

slots, or not fixed to avoid loosening. In 2000, the Safety Board estimated that about 10

million children were traveling in misused safety seats.

The Safety Board called on child restraint manufacturers to make child safety seats

easier to use. Research shows that although 96 percent of parents think they have installed

their child’s car seat correctly, 8 out of 10 have not. Use of a safety device must be simple

and intuitive.

Properly used child restraints have proven to be effective in reducing the likelihood

of death and injury to children. NHTSA estimates that the potential effectiveness of child

restraints, when used correctly, is 71 percent. When children are improperly secured in

child restraints or child restraints are improperly installed in vehicles, the effectiveness of

child restraints drops to 59 percent. 

Courtesy General Motors
Fitting Stations 9 Putting Children First

To assist parents and caregivers in properly installing their child safety seats, in

1999 the Safety Board asked the States, automobile and child restraint manufacturers, and

NHTSA to support the establishment of child safety seat fitting stations.

Fitting stations, staffed by trained and certified child safety seat technicians,

provide hands-on instruction to parents and caregivers on proper child safety seat selection

and installation. Fitting stations can be established at automobile dealerships, automobile

repair stations, firehouses, health centers, or wherever annual motor vehicle safety

inspections are done. These stations provide a stable resource for parents and should be

easily accessible and available at times that are convenient for parents and caretakers.

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

Auto Manufacturers

• DaimlerChrysler established Fit for A Kid, a nationwide program of permanent

fitting stations, at selected dealerships. By the end of 2000, Fit for a Kid

services will be available in all 50 States, and much of the U.S. population will

be less than an hour’s drive from a Fit for A Kid location.

• General Motors established mobile fitting stations in every State in partnership

with the National Safe Kids Campaign. GM presented Safe Kids with 51

colorfully decorated minivans that are used to bring child safety seat

inspections to shopping centers, auto dealerships, and other locations in

communities in every State and the District of Columbia.

• Ford Motor Company established the “Boost America” program to provide

support for existing community fitting stations and to implement a campaign to

give away booster seats to needy families. Ford is also conducting child safety

seat inspections through its program.

• BMW initiated a 6-month program, the “Ultimate Child Safety Seat Clinic.”

BMW sent certified instructors to over 200 of its dealerships to conduct 1-day

safety seat inspections in conjunction with a charitable fund-raising event that

BMW sponsors.

• A Toyota dealer in Alexandria, Virginia, donated a Toyota Quest to the

Alexandria Police Department. Named “Baby-1,” the van is used to conduct

safety seat inspections at various locations around the city.
Fitting Stations 10 Putting Children First

States

• In Connecticut, 24 state troopers have been certified as child seat safety

technicians, and 30 local police departments or medical facilities have certified

technicians. Some of these locations have established permanent and regularly

scheduled dates and locations for child safety seat clinics.

• In the District of Columbia, a permanent fitting station has been established at

the Division of Motor Vehicles. The fitting station is open two afternoons a

week and the third Saturday of each month. Other permanent locations are

planned.

• In Florida, every county sheriff’s office and city police station serve as fitting

stations and every traffic law enforcement officer has been trained to provide

assistance.

• Hawaii has four permanent fitting stations currently in operation, and 13 more

are expected to be operational by the end of 2000.

• Idaho has seven permanent locations located at the seven health district offices

in major metropolitan areas in addition to periodic safety seat checkup events

held at other locations.

• Indiana has 13 fitting stations at fire stations, police stations, home extension

offices, medical facilities and other businesses and a toll free number that

provides the telephone number of a certified technician in the caller’s local

area.

• Iowa is piloting two model fitting stations. One is at a 24-hour emergency

medical facility. The other is being promoted and advertised by U.S. Cellular

and staffed by the Central Iowa Traffic Safety Task Force. It is open every

Thursday evening and every third Saturday of the month.

• Kansas has 89 certified technicians. Corporate sponsors established fitting

stations with the assistance of the Department of Transportation’s safety

contractors.

• Kentucky is coordinating the establishment and implementation of permanent

fitting stations at Department of Transportation local district offices throughout

the Commonwealth. The State set a goal to have a minimum of 13 permanent

stations by the end of 2000. In addition, the Police Department in Paducah,

Kentucky, operates a fitting station at police headquarters.

Logos from auto manufacturer child safety programs
Fitting Stations 11 Putting Children First

• Maine is establishing 16 permanent fitting stations, 1 in each county.

• Missouri established 26 permanent fitting stations in addition to 10 fitting

stations at automobile dealerships.

• New Jersey has over 200 certified technicians. Permanent fitting stations were

started by county agencies in 4 of 21 counties; at least 3 more are expected by

the end of 2000.

• New Mexico is considering a pilot test of four permanent fitting stations and is

also examining the use of five portable fitting station “kits” that can be used at

regularly scheduled locations.

• New York has established 57 permanent fitting stations and plans to expand its

program.

• South Carolina is establishing pilot fitting stations in two counties.

• West Virginia currently has 20 fitting stations and plans to establish 30 more

over the next year. In addition, fitting stations will be established in each of the

17 regional offices of the Division of Motor Vehicles.

• Northern Mariana Islands designated four fire stations on the island of Saipan

as permanent inspection stations.

• Many other States and organizations conduct either regular or occasional child

safety seat clinics; that is, the location and frequency of their child safety seat

inspections vary.

Child Restraint Manufacturers

• Britax Child Safety, Inc. has developed retailer fitting stations. These fitting

stations use an in-store “demo rig” to demonstrate proper installation of Britax

child restraints. Britax requires all retailers to own and use this rig as a

condition of selling its Roundabout child restraint. The company has teamed

with BMW in the Ultimate Car Safety Seat Clinic program.

• Fisher-Price has partnered with DaimlerChrysler to establish their nationwide

Fit for A Kid program.

• E-Z-On Products, a manufacturer of child safety harnesses, provides child seat

technician training.

NHTSA

• NHTSA has indicated its intention to develop a guidebook for States to use in

establishing and operating fitting stations.
12 Putting Children First

Child Restraint Laws

The Problem

The Safety Board’s 1996 child passenger safety study involving more than 180

restrained children showed that the children tended to be restrained in systems too

advanced for their physical development. For example, the report showed that 52 children

used vehicle seat belts when they should have been placed in child restraint systems or

booster seats.

 In the summer of 1996 in Washington State, a 4-year-old, 45-pound boy was

buckled into a lap/shoulder belt by his mother in accordance with State law. When their

sport utility vehicle rolled over in a violent crash, the boy’s lap/shoulder belt remained

buckled, but the young boy was ejected from the restraint and the car, and killed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report in February

1999 indicating that 4- through 8-year-olds are not being protected because of gaps in the

State laws that govern child safety seats. As a result, the CDC estimates that almost 500

children die on our highways every year because they are not properly secured in restraint

systems—booster seats—that are appropriate for their age, height, and weight.

Courtesy BoostAmerica
Child Restraint Laws 13 Putting Children First

Lessons Learned

Seat belts, like air bags, were designed for adults. Children need to be almost 5

feet tall before the vehicle lap/shoulder belt will fit them properly. Although all 50 States

and the District of Columbia have child passenger protection laws, in 1996, the Safety

Board called on the States to strengthen their child restraint laws to do the following:

• Require all children under 4 years old to be in child safety seats.

• Require that 4- to 8-year-old children use auto safety booster seats.

• Eliminate provisions that permit children under 8 years old to be buckled up in

a seat belt.

• Require all children under age 13 to ride in the back seat, if a seat is available.

Twenty-eight States and the District of Columbia require children of all ages

(infants through teenagers) to be buckled up, although most permit seat belts to be

substituted for child safety seats or booster seats. Only eight States require all children

age 4 and under to be in child safety seats.

In addition, 6 out of 10 children killed in traffic crashes are not buckled up at all.

The number of children killed each year could be reduced by 50 percent if every child

were buckled up. There should be no tolerance for unbuckled children. State child

restraint laws should be enforced and supported to reduce the number of children killed

and injured in traffic crashes.

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• Washington State and California enacted laws in 2000 to require children

under 6 years of age or 60 pounds to ride in a booster seat.

• Delaware, North Carolina, and Rhode Island require children to ride in the

back seat of air bag-equipped cars. In Louisiana, all children less than 13 years

of age must ride in the rear seat when one is available.

• NHTSA recently began an education campaign “Boost ’em before you Buckle

’em” to ensure that 4- to 8-year-olds get buckled up in age-appropriate restraint

systems.
14 Putting Children First

Designing Cars for Child Safety

The Problem

Most automobile safety features, such as seat belts, have been developed based on

crash testing with a 170-pound adult male dummy. Safeguards that work for a person of

this size are not always appropriate for children. Not enough attention has been paid to

designing vehicles to protect the children riding in them. This is evident from the tragic

consequences of air bag deployment on rear-facing infant seats in the front seating

position of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag, and the injuries that small children can

sustain from seat belts that do not provide equal protection for them as they do for adults.

Lessons Learned

Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in June 1999 indicates that

the rear seat of a vehicle is the safest seating position for children. Putting a child in the

back seat can reduce the risk of death by 35 percent in cars without air bags and by 53

percent in cars with air bags. Currently, 10 times more children ride in the front seat of the

car than need to (that is, a back seat is available for them). In the center back seat position,

the child is farthest from any impact in the event of a crash. NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis

Reporting System (FARS) data shows that 46 percent of all back-seat occupants seated in

the center position are under the age of 13. Currently, the back seats of vehicles are

designed for a mid-size adult male.

Car designed with built-in booster seats.

Courtesy National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Designing Cars for Child Safety 15 Putting Children First

As a result of a 1996 child passenger safety study, the Safety Board issued a series

of safety recommendations, related to design of vehicles, that asked for center

lap/shoulder belts in the back seats to permit use of belt-positioning booster seats by 4- to

8-year-old children, adjustable upper anchorages on rear seat shoulder belts for better fit

once children have outgrown their booster seats, and built-in child safety seats that

eliminate compatibility problems between the vehicle’s seat belt and child safety seat. In

an April 1999 speech before the World Traffic Safety Symposium in New York City,

Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall challenged automobile manufacturer design and

engineering teams to consider what they can do to put children first when designing

vehicles in the future. 

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• Built-in child safety seats are now available on certain vehicles including the

Chevrolet Venture, Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Caravan, Mercury

Villager, Nissan Quest, Plymouth Voyager, Pontiac Montana, Saab (93 and 95

models), Subaru Legacy, and Volvo (S40, S80, and V40 models).

• Shoulder belts have been required in rear outboard seating positions since

1990. Automakers now provide shoulder belts as standard equipment in the

center rear seat position of most model vehicles.

• Shoulder belt anchor locations have been lowered in some vehicles to better fit

older children who no longer need a child safety or booster seat.

• Automakers are designing entertainment features for cars that encourage

children to sit in the back seat.

• More child-size dummies are available for crash testing to enable automakers

to see how safe cars are for children.

• NHTSA will require a special child safety seat latch in automobiles, effective

2002, to eliminate compatibility problems.
16 Putting Children First

School Transportation for Children

The Problem

In 1997, the Safety Board investigated a school bus accident near Monticello,

Minnesota. The school bus was traveling about 45 miles per hour through an intersection

when it was struck by a dump truck with a semitrailer, traveling about 50 mph. The dump

truck driver ran a stop sign, skidded into the intersection, and was struck by the front of the

school bus. A second impact occurred when the right front corner of the semitrailer struck

the left side of the school bus. A third impact occurred when the semitrailer slapped the

side of the school bus as the bus was rotating clockwise. The school bus was occupied by

an adult driver and 13 passengers, ages 6 to 11. The truck driver and three bus passengers

seated in the left rear of the bus were fatally injured. One bus passenger sustained critical

injuries, two sustained severe injuries, and three sustained serious injuries. The school bus

driver and one passenger sustained moderate injuries, and three passengers sustained

minor injuries. 

Current large school bus occupant protection regulations are based on a concept

called compartmentalization: the seats are strong, closely spaced together, high backed,

well padded, and designed to absorb energy during a crash. This concept evolved from

both crash testing research and Federal rulemaking by NHTSA.

This accident and five others investigated for the Safety Board’s 1999 Bus

Crashworthiness Special Investigation Report demonstrated that passenger fatalities and

serious injuries may occur away from the area of initial vehicle impact. This represents a

departure from the circumstances in previous school bus accidents investigated by the

Safety Board in which the fatalities and serious injuries routinely occurred in the initial

impact areas. 

Lessons Learned

During the investigation of the six accidents mentioned above, the Safety Board

learned that although compartmentalization is an effective means of protecting children in

school bus accidents, current compartmentalization is incomplete. It does not protect

passengers during lateral (side) impacts with vehicles of large mass or in rollovers,

because in such accidents, passengers do not always remain completely within the seating

compartment.

The school bus seat in use today is a 23-year-old design. The Safety Board

believes that installing obsolete technology (lap belts) in school bus seats that were never

designed for them is the wrong solution to improve school bus occupant protection. The

right solution, and the one that Board has recommended, is to develop a seating system

that restrains passengers within the seating compartment throughout the accident sequence

that accounts for frontal impact collisions, side impact collisions, rear impact collisions,

and rollovers.
School Transportation 17 Putting Children First

Safety Improvements 

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• NHTSA has performed school bus crash tests as a result of the Safety Board’s

school bus accident investigations. NHTSA is conducting a research program

to evaluate the next generation of school bus seating systems.
18 Putting Children First

Passenger Vans Used for School Activities

The Problem

In 1998, the Safety Board investigated an accident in East Dublin, Georgia, in

which a 15-passenger van, occupied by a driver, five children ages 4 and 5, and an adult

aide, collided with another vehicle. The van was transporting children from their homes to

a Head Start Program center. When the van reached an intersection of a major road, its

driver drove through a stop sign, entered the intersection, and hit a pickup truck operated

by a 17-year-old driver. A 4-year-old child was ejected from the van and died. The van’s

driver was seriously injured, and the other van occupants received minor injuries. The

pickup driver was killed. Eight of the van’s 10 windows were shattered in the accident. If

the occupants had been riding in a regular school bus with federally mandated crash

protection, the van would probably have sustained less damage, resulting in fewer and less

severe injuries to the passengers.

Lessons Learned

These vans are referred to as non-conforming buses because they do not have the

same requirements for occupant protection, joint strength of body panels, or roof rollover

protection that ensure passengers in “yellow” school buses that meet Federal standards

and have a higher degree of passenger safety. Further, these vehicles do not have

compartmentalized interiors. A 1999 Safety Board special investigation on nonconforming buses showed that some school districts, daycare centers, and contract

transportation companies are using vans, tour buses, and other specialty buses for student

transportation and therefore do not provide the same level of protection as standard-size

school buses.
Passenger Vans 19 Putting Children First

Based on four accidents investigated for the 1999 non-conforming bus report, the

Safety Board asked the States and the District of Columbia to require all vehicles

transporting 10 or more children to and from school and school-related activities to use

vehicles that meet school bus structural standards.

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• Several affordable vans have been designed to meet the more protective

Federal standards. 

• Insurance companies have begun to recognize the safety advantages of school

buses over vans, and some will no longer insure operators that use vans to

transport children. 

• South Carolina enacted legislation in 2000 to phase out the use of nonconforming buses by private schools and others.
20 Putting Children First

Minimum Drinking Age and Zero Alcohol Tolerance Laws 

for Drivers Under Age 21

The Problem

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young persons between 15

and 20 years of age, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FARS,

constituting nearly 36 percent of all deaths in this age group. In 1998, 2,210 teens were

killed in alcohol-related crashes. A young driver has a higher risk of a fatal crash than an

older driver at all blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels. Teenage drinking and driving

is especially risky, even at relatively low alcohol levels. At BAC levels of 0.01 to 0.049

percent, young male drivers have six times the crash risk of drivers over age 25 within the

same range of BAC levels, according to the FARS data.

Although this issue receives the most attention during prom and graduation season,

the greatest number of youth alcohol-related fatalities occurred in July and August in

1999. Also, youth alcohol-related fatalities are more frequent in the fall months than in

spring months, possibly because of the emphasis placed on alcohol-free prom and

graduation activities.

Lessons Learned 

Campaigns for alcohol-free prom and graduation events suggest a need to expand

successful prom and graduation alcohol awareness programs to fall social events.

Studies in the 1970s and 1980s showed that crashes and fatalities could be reduced

if all States enacted laws making 21 the minimum drinking age. In 1982, the Safety Board

recommended that States that had not already done so, adopt age 21 as the minimum age

for purchase and possession of alcohol. 

In 1993, in its evaluation of youth crashes and fatalities, the Safety Board found

that youth were still over-represented in crashes and that additional measures were needed

to reduce youth fatalities, including alcohol-related fatalities. That year, the Safety Board

issued several safety recommendations asking States to enact comprehensive zero alcohol

tolerance laws that would prohibit drivers under the age of 21 from driving with a

measurable BAC (any level above a 0.00 BAC).

The Safety Board also urged the States to review their minimum drinking age laws

to eliminate deficiencies, to vigorously enforce such laws to reduce purchase of alcoholic

beverages by persons under the age of 21, and to vigorously enforce license actions

against underage purchasers and against vendors who sell to underage purchasers. In

1980, 49 percent of all fatally injured drivers under 21 had BACs of 0.10 percent or

greater. This proportion declined dramatically as States raised minimum purchasing ages,

and by 1998 the percent of fatally injured drivers under age 21 with BACs of 0.10 percent
Drinking and Driving 21 Putting Children First

or greater had declined to 22 percent, the biggest improvement for any age group,

according to the FARS data.

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• All States and the District of Columbia now have 21-year-old minimum

drinking age laws, saving an estimated 18,220 lives between 1975 and 1998. 

• Twenty-three States and the District of Columbia passed stronger youth

drinking and driving laws. In 1998, Louisiana became the 50th State to prohibit

alcohol sales to minors (persons under age 21). 

• Eleven States and the District of Columbia adopted laws to prevent attempts to

purchase alcohol.

• Two States and the District of Columbia have made it illegal for minors to

purchase alcoholic beverages.

• One State and the District of Columbia have criminalized possession of

alcoholic beverages by minors.

• Five more States have prohibited consumption; two States have prohibited the

misrepresentation of one’s age to purchase alcoholic beverages.

• Nine States and the District of Columbia have made it illegal to possess or use

false identification.

• A majority of States have conducted enforcement programs (“stings” and

“Cops in Shops”) to reduce underage alcohol sales and purchases.

• All States and the District of Columbia have set a BAC limit of 0.02 or lower

for drivers under the age of 21.

& .

Courtesy National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
22 Putting Children First

Young Drivers: Graduated Driver Licensing

The Problem 

Novice drivers, especially young novice drivers under age 20, have a higher crash

rate than more experienced drivers, according to FARS data. While traffic crashes account

for approximately 2 percent of all deaths, they account for 36 percent of all deaths among

15- to 20-year-olds. In 1998, teen drivers constituted only 6.9 percent of licensed drivers,

but were involved in 14.4 percent of all highway fatalities. About 20 percent of their

driving occurred at night, but about 50 percent of their fatalities occurred during the hours

of darkness. Analysis by NHTSA in 1998 of crashes among first-year drivers (primarily

ages 16 and 17) indicates that they have twice the average number of crashes and, on a

miles-driven basis, four times the number of crashes of more experienced drivers.

A 1998 NHTSA report shows that there are certain characteristics of fatal crashes

involving young novice drivers:

• The drivers and passengers frequently are not belted (almost two-thirds of

fatalities).

• The cars are loaded with the drivers’ peers (58 percent of fatalities in young

driver crashes are peers of the young driver; 75 percent where the young driver

had been drinking).

• Often there is a deadly combination of inexperience and immaturity (16-yearold drivers have the highest fatal crash rate per mile driven).

When night driving and alcohol are added to the equation, crash risk increases

dramatically while safety belt use decreases. These crashes are preventable and legislative

measures have been successful in reducing both crashes and fatalities.

Lessons Learned

In 1993, the Safety Board examined the issue of crashes involving young drivers.

Based on its review, the Safety Board issued two safety recommendations urging that

States enact laws to provide for a graduated license system for young drivers. Graduated

driver licensing core elements include a three-phase system, including a learner's permit, a

provisional license, and then full licensure; a 6-month minimum holding period for both

the learner's permit and the provisional license; nighttime driving and teenage passenger

restrictions; and a supervised driving requirement to increase driving experience.

States can reduce crashes involving young novice drivers by enacting graduated

driver licensing to help young drivers learn to drive in the safest possible environment, to

help teens acquire ample driving experience in supervised situations, and to reward teens

for driving safely. Tennessee’s graduated licensing law provides a model. Tennessee has a

mandatory 6-month minimum holding period for a learner’s permit and a mandatory

1-year minimum holding period for an intermediate license. Young drivers also have a
Graduated Licensing 23 Putting Children First

nighttime driving restriction, and the number of teens allowed in their car without an adult

present is limited. Learners must have 50 hours of driving experience, including 10 hours

at night, before they can obtain their intermediate license. To move to each of the two

higher levels, young drivers must have a clean driving record. As a result, only good

driving habits are rewarded and reinforced.

Research by Florida and North Carolina validates the value of graduated licensing

laws. Subsequent evaluation of Florida’s graduated license law that took effect on July 1,

1996, determined that the law resulted in a 9-percent reduction in fatality and injury

crashes among 15- to 17-year-old drivers. The North Carolina law became effective on

December 1, 1997. In 1998, despite an increase of nearly 500,000 new drivers, the

number of youth fatalities declined slightly, and the youth fatal crash rate continued to

decline. A July 2000 report by the University of North Carolina indicated that North

Carolina's graduated licensing law is being credited with a 29-percent decline in crashes

involving 16-year-olds. The law had an even greater effect on nighttime crashes: it

reduced late night crashes for 16-year-old drivers by 47 percent. In addition, the law was

credited with a 9-percent crash reduction for 17-year-olds. 

Courtesy Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Graduated Licensing 24 Putting Children First

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances developed a

model graduated licensing law for use by the States in 1996 and incorporated it

into the Uniform Vehicle Code in 2000.

• Twenty-nine States (California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,

Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, North

Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South

Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) and the

District of Columbia have enacted comprehensive graduated licensing systems.

• Fifteen more States have licensing laws that include at least one element of the

comprehensive graduated licensing program.

• Thirty-two States (California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho,

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,

Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,

New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South

Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and

Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia have enacted nighttime driving

restriction provisions for young novice drivers.
25 Putting Children First

Child Safety in Recreational Boating

The Problem

In June 1997, a 25-year-old man lost control of a rented personal watercraft

(PWC), more commonly known as a jet ski, at a water park. The vessel entered a

lifeguard-supervised swimming area and struck six children, ages 5 to 12. It hit another

person on the beach before coming to a stop. All of the children were injured, including

one who suffered severe lacerations and remained in a coma for 3 days. The accident was

the result of excessive speed and the operator’s inability to control the craft. He had never

driven such a vehicle before and had been riding it for less than an hour when the accident

occurred. This is one of more than 1,700 police reports on PWC accidents examined by

the Safety Board.

Lessons Learned

Safety Board studies and investigations over the years show that our waterways are

becoming as congested and dangerous as our highways. As recreational boat use

increases, so does the potential for more accidents, injuries, and fatalities. Each year,

millions of children are among an estimated 80 million people participating in recreational

boating activities on 50 million acres of lakes, on 633,000 miles of rivers, and along

88,633 miles of coastline.

In 1993, the Safety Board asked the States to consider requirements for

demonstration of safe boating skills and knowledge of boating safety rules, operator

licensing, and mandatory use of personal flotation devices (PFDs) for children. The

Board’s study of recreational boating safety found that of the 36 children who survived the

accidents examined in the study, 15 lives were saved because the children were wearing a

PFD.

In 1998, the Safety Board published a safety study on PWC. The Safety Board

urged the States, local authorities, and the Coast Guard to require the use of PFDs by all

persons, including children, aboard a PWC. The Safety Board also urged boating

education for young people who are allowed to operate high-powered vessels, and training

requirements for any young person who rents a PWC.

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Safety Board’s recommendations include the

following:
Child Safety in Recreational Boating 26 Putting Children First

• The American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of Boating

Law Administrators, and the U.S. Coast Guard established age 12 and under as

the ages that a child on a recreational vessel should be required to wear a PFD.

• Thirty-six States and one territory currently require the mandatory use of PFDs

by children, although the age of the child varies.

• Twenty States currently have some mandatory boating safety education

requirements for children and young operators.

• The Personal Watercraft Industry Association supports efforts to require boater

education for PWC operators and mandatory use of lifejackets for all persons

on-board PWC.

• The recreational boating industry recommends that children under 16 years of

age not be permitted to operate a PWC and that anyone renting one must be at

least 18 years old.

• PWC manufacturers are exploring such new technologies as off-throttle

steering and collision avoidance systems that will make PWC safer for children

and adults as both operators and passengers.

Courtesy Boat/U.S.
27 Putting Children First

Child Safety in Aviation

The Problem

In 1994, the Safety Board investigated an accident in which a DC-9 passenger jet

crashed during a storm while landing at Charlotte, North Carolina. A lap-held 9-monthold baby received massive head injuries after being torn from its mother’s arms, and died.

The mother, properly belted and restrained, survived, receiving far less serious injuries.

During take-off, landing, and turbulence, adults are required to be buckled up, baggage

and coffee pots are stowed, computers are turned off and put away, yet infants and toddlers

need not be securely restrained.

Lessons Learned

As a result of investigations, the Safety Board in 1990, 1994, and 1995 urged the

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require one level of safety for all passengers, no

matter their age. The Safety Board believes that all occupants should be restrained during

takeoff, landing, and turbulent conditions and that all infants and small children should be

restrained in an approved child restraint system appropriate to their height and weight.

At this writing, the Safety Board is investigating an accident that occurred in June

1999, involving a McDonell-Douglas MD-82 that crashed after landing at Little Rock,

Arkansas. Thunderstorms with heavy rain were in the area at the time of the accident. The

airplane departed the end of the runway, went down an embankment, and hit approach

light structures. Eleven persons were killed, and 45 were seriously injured. A 2-year-old

child buckled into a child restraint system survived the impact.
Child Safety in Aviation 28 Putting Children First

Safety Improvements

Actions taken subsequent to the Board’s safety recommendations include the

following:

• The FAA initiated an information campaign in 1996 strongly recommending

that all children who fly, regardless of their age, use the appropriate restraint

based on their size and weight. This campaign emphasized that use of an

approved child restraint system on an aircraft enhances child safety in the event

of turbulence or an accident.

• The FAA initiated preliminary rulemaking to require child safety seat use for

children on airlines in 1998.

• In December 1999, at a Safety Board-sponsored meeting, the FAA

Administrator announced her intention to require that all children be restrained

on aircraft.
29 Putting Children First

More Safety Challenges

This publication chronicles many of the safety improvements made to date that

reduce the potential for death and injuries to America’s youngest travelers. There is much

more to do. Forty-six of the Board’s more than 100 safety recommendations to improve

child transportation safety are still awaiting implementation. These recommendations are

listed below and are identified by a Safety Board designation. The first letter represents

the transportation mode, followed by two digits representing the year. That is followed by

the number of the recommendation in that mode. The Safety Board’s unfinished list of

improvements that still must be made include the following:

A-95-50

The NTSB recommends that the FAA develop standards for forwardfacing, integrated child safety seats for transport category aircraft.

A-95-51

The NTSB recommends that the FAA revise 14 Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR) parts 91, 135, and 121 to require that all occupants be

restrained during takeoff, landing, and turbulent conditions, and that all

infants and small children be restrained in a manner appropriate to their

size.

H-83-40

The NTSB recommends that the governors of the 50 States and the Mayor

of the District of Columbia review state laws and regulations, and take any

necessary legislative action, to ensure that vehicles designed to carry more

than 10 passengers and weighing less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle

weight rating (GVWR) used to transport children to and from school,

school-related events, camp, day care center, or similar purposes meet all

Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) applicable to small

school buses.

H-96-13

The NTSB recommends that the States, governors, legislative leaders, and

the District of Columbia emphasize the importance of transporting children

in the back seat of passenger vehicles through educational materials

disseminated by the state. Consider setting aside one-tenth of 1 percent

from all motor vehicle insurance premiums for policies written to establish

a highway safety fund to be use for this and other safety efforts.
More Safety Challenges 30 Putting Children First

H-96-14

The NTSB recommends that the legislatures of the 50 States, the U.S.

Territories, and the District of Columbia review existing laws and enact

legislation, if needed, that would ensure that children up to 8 years old are

required by the State's mandatory child restraint use law to use child

restraint systems and booster seats.

H-96-15

The NTSB recommends that the legislatures of the 50 States, the U.S.

Territories, and the District of Columbia review existing laws and enact

legislation, if needed, that would eliminate exemptions for children to

substitute seat belts in place of child restraint systems.

H-96-16

The NTSB recommends that the legislatures of the 50 States, the U.S.

Territories, and the District of Columbia review existing laws and enact

legislation, if needed, that would require children 8 years old or older to use

seat belts in all vehicle seating positions.

H-96-18

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA immediately revise Federal Motor

Vehicle Safety Standard 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," to establish

performance requirements for passenger-side air bags based on testing

procedures that reflect actual accident environments including pre-impact

braking, out-of-position child occupants (belted and unbelted), properly

positioned belted child occupants, and with the seat track in the forward

most position.

H-96-20

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA establish a timetable to implement

intelligent air bag technology that will moderate or prevent the air bag from

deployment if full deployment would pose an injury hazard to a belted or

unbelted occupant in the right front seating position, such as a child who is

seated too close to the instrument panel, a child who moves forward

because of pre-impact braking, or a child who is restrained in a rear-facing

child restraint system.
More Safety Challenges 31 Putting Children First

H-96-22

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA review, through its blue ribbon panel

comprising child passenger safety advocates, automobile and child

restraint manufacturers, and automobile insurance providers, the various

efforts that promote child passenger safety, and then develop and

implement a plan to ensure coordinated, comprehensive, continuing

programs and stable funding for these programs.

H-96-25

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA revise FMVSS 213, "Child Restraint

Systems," to establish performance standards for booster seats that can

restrain children up to 80 pounds.

H-96-27

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA revise FMVSS 213, “Child Restraint

Systems,” to include performance requirements for seat belt adjusters.

H-96-30

The NTSB recommends that the domestic and international automobile

manufacturers develop and implement a program to reduce the misuse of

child restraint systems that would include elements such as technical

training for dealership personnel in the proper use of child restraint systems

and promotional events at dealerships to provide parents and caregivers

with info on proper use.

H-96-34

The NTSB recommends that Babyhood Industries; Century Products;

Cosco, Inc.; Evenflo; Fisher-Price; Gerico, Inc.; Kolcraft; and Nissan

Motor Corporation evaluate, in conjunction with NHTSA, the design of

child restraint systems, with the goal of simplifying placement of a child in

a restraint system.

H-96-35

The NTSB recommends that Babyhood Industries; Century Products;

Cosco, Inc.; Evenflo; Fisher-Price; Gerico, Inc.; Kolcraft; and Nissan

Motor Corporation simplify the written and visual instructions provided to

consumers regarding the installation of child restraint devices.
More Safety Challenges 32 Putting Children First

H-97-1

The NTSB recommends that the legislatures of the 50 States, the U.S.

Territories, and the District of Columbia enact legislation to require

transporting children 12 years old and younger in a rear seat of a passenger

vehicle if a rear seating position is available. The child should be

restrained in accordance with the State's child restraint law.

H-97-5

The NTSB recommends that the governors and the legislatures of the 50

States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia encourage and

support by enforcement organizations to conduct dedicated and highly

visible occupant restraint enforcement programs that focus on increasing

the use of seat belts and child restraints.

H-97-7

The NTSB recommends that the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National

League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and the National

Association of Towns and Townships encourage and support efforts by

enforcement organizations conduct dedicated and highly visible occupant

restraint enforcement programs that focus on increasing the use of seat belt

and child restraints.

H-97-9

The NTSB recommends that the members of the International Association

of Chiefs of Police, the State Association of Chiefs of Police, and the

National Sheriffs’ Association conduct dedicated and highly visible

occupant restraint enforcement programs that focus on increasing the use

of seat belts and child restraints.

H-97-11

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA develop and implement a set of

vehicle crash test standards using biologically representative child

dummies and appropriate injury criteria.

H-97-16

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA develop, in conjunction with the

States, uniform measurement procedures and tools for the States to use

when conducting surveys on seat belt and child restraint use, and revise the

1992 guidelines to ensure that a probability-based design is use to select a

representative sample of the population. Provide this information to the

States.
More Safety Challenges 33 Putting Children First

H-97-23

The NTSB recommends that the Motion Picture Association of America,

the Entertainment Industries Council, the Academy of Television Arts and

Sciences, and the National Cartoonist Society encourage your members to

show adults wearing seat belts properly and children in the back seat of

passenger vehicles in size-appropriate child restraint systems unless

obviously identified or depicted as high-risk behavior.

H-97-24

The NTSB recommends that the American Society of Newspaper Editors,

the National Newspaper Association, and the Newspaper Association of

America encourage your membership to report in news articles about

passenger vehicle crashes, information on the use of seat belts and child

restraints, and the injury severity that results when seat belts and child

restraints are not used.

H-97-25

The NTSB recommends that the American Society of Newspaper Editors,

the National Newspaper Association, and the Newspaper Association of

America encourage your membership to require that advertisers show

adults wearing seat belts properly and children in the back seat of

passenger vehicles in size-appropriate child restraint systems.

H-97-26

The NTSB recommends that the DOT collect accident data involving

school children riding on transit buses, including pedestrian accidents, to

assist development of appropriate means to ensure that school children

riding on transit buses are afforded an equivalent level of operational safety

as school children riding on school buses.

H-97-27

The NTSB recommends that the DOT work with the National Association

of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, the American Public

Transit Association, and the Community Transportation Association of

America to determine the most appropriate means to ensure that school

children riding on transit buses in “tripper” service are afforded an

equivalent level of operational safety as school children riding on school

buses.
More Safety Challenges 34 Putting Children First

H-97-28

The NTSB recommends that the National Association of State Directors of

Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) work with the DOT, the

American the Public Transit Association (APTA), and the Community

Transportation Association of America (CTAA) to collect accident data

involving school children riding on transit buses and determine the most

appropriate means to ensure that school children riding on transit buses in

“tripper” service are afforded an equivalent level of operational safety as

school children riding on school buses.

H-97-29

The NTSB recommends that the APTA work with the DOT, the

NASDPTS, and the CTAA to collect accident data involving school

children riding on transit buses and determine the most appropriate means

to ensure that school children riding on transit buses in “tripper” service are

afforded an equivalent level of operational safety as school children riding

on school buses.

H-97-30

The NTSB recommends that the CTAA work with the DOT, the

NASDPTS, and the APTA to collect accident data involving school

children riding on transit buses and determine the most appropriate means

to ensure that school children riding on transit buses in “tripper” service are

afforded an equivalent level of operational safety as school children riding

on school buses.

H-99-1

The NTSB recommends that the governors of the States and territories and

the mayor of the District of Columbia coordinate the establishment of

multiple, permanent locations where child restraints can be properly

installed in passenger vehicles and parents/caregivers can receive hands-on

assistance in the proper use of child restraint systems by qualified or

certified personnel.

H-99-2

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA develop incentive grant programs to

assist in the funding of child restraint fitting stations.

H-99-3

The NTSB recommends that the domestic and international automobile

manufacturers support the establishment and existence of child restraint

fitting stations.
More Safety Challenges 35 Putting Children First

H-99-4

The NTSB recommends that the child restraint manufacturers support the

establishment and existence of child restraint fitting stations.

H-99-20

The NTSB recommends that the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services (USDHHS) require that Head Start children be transported in

vehicles built to Federal school bus structural standards or the equivalent.

H-99-21

The NTSB recommends that the USDHHS incorporate and mandate the

use of the guidelines from NHTSA’s guideline for the safe transportation of

pre-school age children in school buses into the rules for the transportation

of Head Start children.

H-99-22

The NTSB recommends that the States, U.S. Territories, and the District of

Columbia require that all vehicles carrying more than 10 passengers

(buses) and transporting children to and from school and school-related

activities, including, but not limited to, Head Start programs and day care

centers, meet the school bus structural standards or the equivalent as set

forth in 49 CFR part 571. Enact regulatory measures to enforce

compliance with the revised statutes.

H-99-23

The NTSB recommends that the States, U.S. Territories, and the District of

Columbia review State and local laws and, if applicable, revise to eliminate

any exclusions or exemptions pertaining to the use of age-appropriate

restraints in all seat belt-equipped vehicles carrying more than 10

passengers (buses) and transporting school children.

H-99-24

The NTSB recommends that the States, U.S. Territories, and the District of

Columbia adopt NHTSA's guideline for the safe transportation of preschool age children in school buses, distribute the guideline to all school

bus operators transporting preschool-age children to and from school or

school-related activities, and encourage those operators to implement the

guideline.
More Safety Challenges 36 Putting Children First

H-99-25

The NTSB recommends that these (numerous school and bus

transportation) associations and churches inform their members about the

circumstances of the accidents discussed in the 1999 special investigation

report, Pupil Transportation in Vehicles Not Meeting Federal School Bus

Standards, and urge that they use school buses or buses having equivalent

occupant protection to school buses to transport children.

H-99-26

The NTSB recommends that the CTAA inform your members of the

circumstances of the East Dublin, Georgia, accident and of the added safety

benefits of transporting children by school bus, and encourage them to use

buses built to federal school bus structural standards or equivalent to

transport children. 1

H-99-46

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA, once pertinent standards have been

developed for school bus occupant protection systems, require newly

manufactured school buses to have an occupant crash protection system

that meets the newly developed performance standards and retains

passengers, including those in child safety restraint systems, within the

seating compartment throughout the accident sequence for all accident

scenarios.

H-99-48

The NTSB recommends that NHTSA, once pertinent standards have been

developed for motor coach occupant protection systems, require newly

manufactured motor coaches to have an occupant crash protection system

that meets the newly developed performance standards and retains

passengers, including those in child safety restraint systems, within the

seating compartment throughout the accident sequence for all accident

scenarios.

M-93-1

The NTSB recommends that each State implement minimum recreational

boating safety standards to reduce the number and severity of accidents;

consider requirements such as mandatory use of PFDs for children,

demonstration of operator knowledge of safe boating rules and skills, and

operator licensing.

1 In 1998, a passenger van, occupied by a driver, five children ages 4 and 5, and an adult aide, collided

with a pickup truck. A 4-year-old child was ejected from the van and died. The van’s driver was seriously

injured, and the other van occupants received minor injuries. The pickup driver was killed.
More Safety Challenges 37 Putting Children First

For more information on Safety Board child safety initiatives, visit the Board’s

Web site: <http://www.ntsb.gov>.