Seat Belts, Child Safety Seats, and Air Bags

Transcription

1 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Child Safety Seats, and Air Bags Restraints Overview Safety Belts Pennsylvania s seat belt law requires drivers and frnt seat passengers t be prperly buckled up when riding in a passenger car, Class 1 and Class 2 truck, r mtr hme. Children age 8 and lder, but under age 18, are required t be secured in a seat belt system anywhere in the vehicle due t law that became effective n February 21, A driver wh is under 18 years f age may nt perate a mtr vehicle in which the number f passengers exceeds the number f available seat belts in the vehicle. The cmbinatin f lap/shulder seat belts, when used, reduces the risk f fatal injury t frnt seat passenger car ccupants by 45% and the risk f mderate-t-critical injury by 50%. Fr light truck ccupants, seat belts reduce the risk f fatal injury by 60% and mderate-t-critical injury by 65%. All passengers shuld wear a seat belt whenever riding in a mtr vehicle even fr shrt distances. Three ut f fur crashes ccur within 25 miles f hme. If everyne wuld wear seat belts when riding in a mtr vehicle, hundreds f lives in Pennsylvania alne wuld be saved (see page 36). Research shws that children are likely t be buckled 92% f the time when adults are buckled and nly 72% f the time when adults are nt buckled. Everyne shuld buckle up, every time! Child Safety Seats Pennsylvania law requires children under the age f fur t be prperly restrained in a child passenger restraint system whenever riding anywhere in the vehicle. Children age fur and lder, but under age eight, are required t be in an apprpriately fitting child bster seat whenever riding anywhere in the vehicle due t law that became effective n February 21, Research shws that child safety seats, when prperly installed, reduce the risk f death by 71% fr infants and 54% fr tddlers. When placing a child safety seat in a vehicle, fllw the manufacturer s instructins fr the vehicle and the child safety seat instructins exactly. There are different types f child safety seats infant, cnvertible, and bster. Children under 1 year f age and 20 punds shuld ride in a rear-facing psitin. Tddlers shuld ride frwardfacing and upright frm age 1 t abut 40 punds. Small children shuld use a belt psitining bster seat frm 40 punds t abut 80 punds and 4 feet 9 inches tall. The belt psitining bster seat must be used with a lap/shulder belt. Children shuld ride in the rear seat whenever pssible, and shuld always be prperly buckled. Air Bag Safety Air bags are supplemental prtectin devices. Everyne shuld still buckle up with bth lap and shulder belts n every trip. Child Safety Children age 12 and under shuld ride buckled up in the back seat. Infants in rear-facing child safety seats shuld NEVER ride in the frnt seat f a vehicle equipped with a passenger-side air bag. If an lder child must ride in a frnt seat equipped with a passenger-side air bag, put the child in a frnt-facing seat r belt-psitining bster seat fr the prper weight f the child, r use a crrectly fitting lap/shulder belt, and mve the vehicle seat as far back as pssible. Adult Safety Everyne shuld buckle up with bth lap and shulder belts n every trip. The lap belt shuld be wrn under the abdmen and lw acrss the hips. The shulder prtin shuld cme ver the cllarbne away frm the neck and crss ver the breastbne. Driver and frnt passenger seats shuld be mved as far back as practical, particularly fr shrter peple. 34 Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin

2 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Seat Belt Use in Crashes Ttal Peple Invlved Seat belts have prven t be effective in reducing the severity f injuries sustained in a crash. In 2006, as shwn in the tw pie graphs belw, 73.2% f all peple invlved in crashes were wearing seat belts. Many mre peple nt wearing seat belts died in crashes than thse wh did. The table at the bttm shws the ttal number f peple invlved in crashes in 2006 by severity f injury and belt use. Ttal Peple Invlved in Crashes Belts in Use 73.2% Belts Nt in Use 9.3% Belt Use Unknwn 17.6% Ttal Deaths Belts in Use 31.5% Belt Use Unknwn 13.8% Belts Nt in Use 54.7% Belts in Use Belts Nt in Use Belt Use Unknwn Killed Majr Injury 1,304 1, Mderate Injury 8,363 3,409 1,981 Minr Injury 34,891 6,297 6,595 Unk Injury Sev 12,082 2,427 5,831 N Injury 153,584 12,637 35,388 TOTAL 210,579 26,614 50,513 Nte: Vehicles invlved include passenger cars, light trucks, SUVs, vans, and heavy trucks. Belts Nt Available is included in Belts Nt In Use. Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin 35

3 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Seat Belt Use in Crashes Impact n Deaths and The table and graph belw give estimates f the impact that 100% seat belt use wuld have n traffic deaths and injuries. The numbers in parentheses, in the last rw f the table belw, are the estimated decreases in 2006 deaths and injuries if 100% seat belt use was achieved. (Nte: The data belw is fr passenger cars nly.) The estimated ecnmic savings f 100% belt use fr ccupants f just passenger cars in 2006 wuld have been $1,996,354,763 r apprximately $160 fr every man, wman, and child in Pennsylvania. Mre imprtantly, 316 peple wuld have survived if they had wrn their belts. Deaths Majr Mderate Minr Nne Belts Used ,594 31,595 87,916 Belts Nt Used ,175 5,941 7,390 TOTAL 599 1,631 7,769 37,536 95,306 If 100% Belt Use ,405 35,761 99,406 Net Increase/(Decrease) (316) (646) (1,364) (1,775) 4, Nte: PENNDOT s cst estimating prcedures were revised in 2006 dllars. N Belts is included in Belts Nt Used. 0 Deaths Actual If 100% Belt Use 36 Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin

4 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Seat Belt Use in Crashes Histrical Data On Nvember 1, 1983, Pennsylvania passed a primary law requiring drivers t secure children under age fur in an apprved child passenger restraint system when riding in a passenger car, Class I truck, Class II truck, classic mtr vehicle, antique mtr vehicle, r mtr hme registered in Pennsylvania. Children ages ne t fur culd be in the back seat in a child safety belt in lieu f a child passenger restraint system. Fines tk effect January 1, On Nvember 23, 1987, Pennsylvania passed a safety belt law. The law requires the driver and frnt seat passengers f a passenger car, Class I and Class II trucks, r mtr hme t wear a prperly-adjusted and fastened safety belt. The driver is respnsible fr securing children ages fur t eighteen in a safety belt when riding in the frnt seat. This is a secndary vilatin. Fines tk effect March 23, Effective August 21, 1993, the child passenger restraint law was upgraded t require all drivers (nt just thse with vehicles registered in Pennsylvania) t secure a child up t age fur in a child passenger restraint system when sitting anywhere in the vehicle. Effective February 21, 2003, the child passenger restraint law was upgraded t require children ages 4 thrugh 7 t be in an apprpriately fitting child bster seat and thse children ages 8 thrugh 17 t be secured in a seat belt system whenever riding anywhere in a vehicle. The graph belw shws the percentage f seat belt users in Pennsylvania since A sharp upward trend was experienced in the year fllwing the passage f the seat belt law. The recent trend shws that the usage rate is still n the rise in crashes. 80% Law Passed 11/1/83 Seat Belt Law Passed 11/23/87 Law Upgraded 8/21/93 Law Upgraded 2/21/03 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Percent Belt Use Nte: Data shwn fr passenger cars nly. Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin 37

5 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Seat Belt Observatinal Surveys Histrical Data Observed seat belt use (the percent f frnt seat vehicle ccupants wearing seat belts) is based upn a statewide statistical sampling f frnt seat ccupants in passenger cars and light trucks. The bserved seat belt use is at its highest levels ever. Fall '90 Summer '91 Spring '92 Spring '93 Fall '94 Fall '96 Fall '98 Fall '00 Fall '02 Fall '04 Fall ' % 55.7% 59.7% 60.4% 62.3% 63.0% 63.7% 67.5% 71.0% 71.0% 65.0% 64.7% 67.8% 69.7% 70.7% 70.5% 75.7% 79.0% 81.8% 83.3% 86.3% 40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% Percent Belt Use Child Passenger Restraints in Crashes Five Year Data Since August 21, 1993, all drivers traveling in Pennsylvania have been required t secure children up t age fur in a child passenger restraint system while sitting anywhere in the vehicle. As shwn in the table belw (fr crashes invlving children under age fur), the percentages f deaths and injuries (within restraint type by rw) were lwer when restraints were used. Frm % f the children under age fur wh were invlved in crashes and restrained in a child seat sustained n injury. Ttal Deaths Majr Mderate Minr Unknwn N Injury Persns Child Seat In Use 34 (0.1%) 93 (0.3%) 295 (1.1%) 2,610 (9.3%) 1,977 (7.0%) 23,164 (82.2%) 28,173 Other Restraint In Use 1 (0.1%) 15 (0.7%) 55 (2.5%) 324 (14.8%) 151 (6.9%) 1,649 (75.1%) 2,195 N Restraint In Use 6 (0.2%) 27 (1.0%) 68 (2.6%) 414 (15.7%) 436 (16.6%) 1,681 (63.9%) 2,632 Nte: Child Seat Nt In Use and Other Restraint Nt In Use have been cmbined int N Restraint in Use. 38 Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin

6 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Air Bag Deplyment in Crashes and Deaths Air bags are becming mre prevalent, but many vehicles in crashes still d nt have airbags as there are still many lder vehicles in use. Additinally, nt all seats in a vehicle have an air bag. The table and graph belw shw the safety benefits f wearing a seat belt, bth with and withut air bag deplyment. (Table percentages are listed within restraint type by rw.) Passive Restaint Seat Belt Ttal Status Status Deaths Majr Mderate Minr Unknwn N Injury Persns Nne n/a 493 (0.4%) 1,308 (0.9%) 5,959 (4.3%) 20,569 (14.7%) 12,894 (9.2%) 98,672 (70.5%) 139,895 Air Bag Deplyed Used 184 (0.5%) 656 (1.7%) 3,381 (8.7%) 10,668 (27.4%) 3,808 (9.8%) 20,290 (52.0%) 38,987 Air Bag Deplyed Nt Used 243 (4.4%) 457 (8.2%) 1,031 (18.5%) 1,553 (27.9%) 729 (13.1%) 1,557 (28.0%) 5,570 Air Bag Deplyed Unknwn 48 (0.8%) 204 (3.4%) 582 (9.8%) 1,342 (22.5%) 1,333 (22.4%) 2,456 (41.2%) 5,965 Air Bag Nt Deplyed Used 47 (0.1%) 191 (0.3%) 1,843 (2.7%) 10,250 (14.9%) 3,691 (5.4%) 52,720 (76.7%) 68,742 Air Bag Nt Deplyed Nt Used 83 (2.1%) 143 (3.7%) 458 (11.7%) 1,047 (26.7%) 383 (9.8%) 1,804 (46.0%) 3,918 Air Bag Nt Deplyed Unknwn 5 (0.1%) 47 (1.0%) 188 (3.9%) 649 (13.6%) 628 (13.1%) 3,271 (68.3%) 4,788 Unknwn If Deplyed n/a 5 (0.5%) 23 (2.2%) 62 (6.0%) 191 (18.3%) 169 (16.2%) 592 (56.8%) 1,042 In crashes that are severe enugh t deply an airbag (fr vehicles and seats s equipped), the data belw shws that yu are ver 8 times mre likely t die if yu are nt wearing a seat belt (6.7 deaths vs. 0.8 deaths per 100 crashes). Air Bag Deplyed/Seat Belt Nt Used Deaths per 100 Crashes 6.7 Air Bag Nt Deplyed/Seat Belt Nt Used 3.8 Air Bag Deplyed/Seat Belt Unknwn 1.3 Air Bag Deplyed/Seat Belt Used 0.8 Air Bag Nt Deplyed/Seat Belt Unknwn 0.2 Air Bag Nt Deplyed/Seat Belt Used Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin 39

7 Child Seats, and Air Bag Usage Air Bag Deplyment by Initial Vehicle Impact Pint Mst air bags are designed t deply in frntal impacts, but side impact air bags are als cmmn fr newer mdel year vehicles. The table belw shws the initial vehicle impact pints fr all 2006 crashes. It is prbable that a vehicle which is initially impacted in the rear may be pushed int the vehicle in frnt (secndary impact), thus deplying the air bag (such as the 998 ccasins in which air bags deplyed in center rear impacts). H G F E D I C J K L A B Air Bag Nt Air Bag Present Air Bag Present, Nt Unknwn/ Impact Pint Vehicles Present Deplyed Deplyed Other Right Side Rear (A) 2,600 1, (25.1%) 902 (74.9%) 378 Right Rear (B) 5,055 2, (16.2%) 1,963 (83.9%) 665 Center Rear (C) 28,738 11, (7.3%) 12,595 (92.7%) 3,658 Left Rear (D) 4,752 1, (13.3%) 1,883 (86.7%) 600 Left Side Rear (E) 2,695 1, (22.1%) 1,003 (77.9%) 343 Left Side Center (F) 7,370 2,988 1,010 (30.9%) 2,255 (69.1%) 1,117 Left Side Frward (G) 6,440 2,292 1,090 (33.8%) 2,136 (66.2%) 922 Left Frnt (H) 26,712 8,871 6,560 (44.9%) 8,041 (55.1%) 3,240 Center Frnt (I) 64,049 19,510 20,522 (56.5%) 15,797 (43.5%) 8,220 Right Frnt (J) 26,976 8,915 6,935 (48.0%) 7,529 (52.1%) 3,597 Right Side Frward (K) 8,672 3,181 1,625 (38.9%) 2,556 (61.1%) 1,310 Right Side Center (L) 7,889 3,101 1,200 (34.2%) 2,305 (65.8%) 1,283 Other 6,639 2,256 1,011 (36.2%) 1,783 (63.8%) 1,589 Nne 4,638 2, (24.1%) 1,273 (75.9%) 667 TOTAL 203,225 71,006 42,609 (40.7%) 62,021 (59.3%) 27,589 Air Bag Deplyment by Age Grup While air bags are an imprtant safety feature, they must be used with a seat belt fr maximum effectiveness. Air bag deplyment withut seat belts can be dangerus. As the table belw shws (frm a percentage perspective), peple using seat belts were less likely t suffer mderate and majr injuries, and even death, during crashes invlving air bag deplyment. (Percentages listed in the table are by age grup.) Seat Belts Used Ttal Age Grup Deaths Majr Mderate Minr Unknwn N Injury Persns (0.0%) 1 (2.3%) 1 (2.3%) 11 (25.6%) 6 (14.0%) 24 (55.8%) (0.0%) 3 (3.2%) 6 (6.4%) 31 (33.0%) 16 (17.0%) 38 (40.4%) (0.0%) 3 (1.1%) 22 (8.0%) 82 (29.8%) 32 (11.6%) 136 (49.5%) (0.4%) 550 (1.6%) 2,865 (8.2%) 9,401 (27.0%) 3,254 (9.3%) 18,641 (53.5%) 34, (1.2%) 49 (2.7%) 225 (12.2%) 539 (29.2%) 249 (13.5%) 761 (41.3%) 1, (2.0%) 50 (2.6%) 262 (13.8%) 604 (31.9%) 251 (13.3%) 690 (36.4%) 1,894 Ttal 184 (0.5%) 656 (1.7%) 3,381 (8.7%) 10,668 (27.4%) 3,808 (9.8%) 20,290 (52.0%) 38,987 Seat Belts Nt Used Ttal Age Grup Deaths Majr Mderate Minr Unknwn N Injury Persns (0.0%) 1 (14.3%) 2 (28.6%) 1 (14.3%) 1 (14.3%) 2 (28.6%) (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 5 (45.5%) 3 (27.3%) 2 (18.2%) 1 (9.1%) (0.0%) 0 (0.0%) 3 (21.4%) 7 (50.0%) 2 (14.3%) 2 (14.3%) (4.0%) 429 (8.1%) 975 (18.5%) 1,475 (27.9%) 688 (13.0%) 1,502 (28.5%) 5, (8.7%) 10 (7.9%) 26 (20.6%) 31 (24.6%) 21 (16.7%) 27 (21.4%) (16.5%) 17 (12.8%) 20 (15.0%) 36 (27.1%) 15 (11.3%) 23 (17.3%) 133 Ttal 243 (4.4%) 457 (8.2%) 1,031 (18.5%) 1,553 (27.9%) 729 (13.1%) 1,557 (28.0%) 5, Pennsylvania Department f Transprtatin