Many safety experts agree that no set of state laws currently provides for the comprehensive efforts necessary to protect children as well as they might be protected. Further, many state laws leave some children woefully unprotected even though proper measures are clear. A new national study found that nine out of ten parents believe that if they adhere to their state's current child passenger safety laws, they will be taking adequate steps to protect their children. The survey queried 1,000 parents and caregivers with children eight years of age and younger. Despite significant gains that have been made in persuading parents to properly restrain their children in child safety seats, the problem is still a serious one.
Car crashes remain the number one killer of children.
Sadly, the DaimlerChrysler survey indicated that we have a long way to go before parents understand what steps are necessary to protect their precious cargo. Less than 10 percent of children between the ages of four and eight use booster seats at all, despite the consensus of safety experts that they are necessary for children between 40 and 80 pounds and up to four feet, nine inches tall. Though most children between four and eight years old fit into this category, very few of them routinely ride in booster seats. Amazingly, such populous states as New York and Ohio allow children as young as three years old to ride completely unrestrained in the back seat or to ride using just an adult seat belt rather than in a safety seat. The often-untold story is that seat belts do not fit most children under the age of eight and can actually cause serious injury to small children in a crash.