Questions about crash injuries

Not sure what forum this belongs in, so move if needed. I got the following emails from my sister in law. She doesn't have any children, but she understands the importance of carseat safety. I couldn't answer her questions in the 2nd email, so i said i'd ask here.

So I googled to find out how the deaths have happened because of
hurricane irene (I was surprised there have been so many, so I wanted
to know what happened).... have you heard anything about this or if
the carseat was being used correctly?

A child died in a car crash at an intersection in Goldsboro, North
Carolina, where the hurricane had knocked out power to the traffic
light, Goldsboro Police Capt. Anthony Carmon said. The crash occurred
when a car carrying a family drove through the intersection and struck
another vehicle, Carmon said. Several people inside the car sustained
injuries.

Click to expand...

I replied.....

I had heard some children died in crashes due to traffic lights out. We rarely find out about carseat usage unless it's gross misuse (mom holding infant seat). But considering there's a 95% misuse rate, it's highly likely there was misuse.

Click to expand...

And she replied.....

Are there any numbers on how many traffic accident fatalities there
are among correctly used carseats? How does the 95% figure get
calculated and how often do those statistics get updated? I know you
are only 1 person, but it seems like if there are car seat crazies in
every state, that number should get better. Any idea how carseat
legislation happens? What kind of carseat laws would you like to see?
Feel free not to respond - hope I'm not annoying being as I don't even
have kids

Click to expand...

I think the actual misuse rate is hard to judge. I've been to one car seat inspection and had no misuse. Seeing as a tech IRL said my install was perfect, and the fact that I know to RTM for the seat and the car, *and* that I can post pictures here, I don't know if I'll get my installs inspected again. Does that mean that I'm not counted when figuring misuse since nobody is checking again?

To the best of my knowledge, we don't have injury criteria for properly used seats, because after a crash even a properly used seat can look misused due to seatbelt/LATCH/harness stretching, etc. Plus a seat might be removed/cut by a first responder. At that point, discovering misuse isn't high on their list.

The misuse rate comes from data collected by SafeKids (et. al.) at seat check events and the like. I think the "official" misuse rate is 80%, but I'd say that's very low.

Car seat regulation is mostly done at the state level. A legislator will sponsor a bill, usually encouraged by individuals, agencies, or other groups. Then it has to go through debates, votes, and approvals. It's typically a very slow process.

I think the misuse rate is much higher than the Safe Kids figure because that is based on the number of people that actually get their seats checked. I know lots of people with misuse that would never get their seats checked. The car seat crazies are vocal so they are heard. That doesn't mean that there are lots of us out there. Most of the parents don't really give seats and proper use much thought which is why I get to see so many misuse pics on Facebook. Almost all (with a few exceptions) the proper use pictures I see on FB are posted by CSO people.

I read the exact article your sister-in-law is quoting and wondered about car seat usage too. I also read a different article about the same crash from another news source, and it stated the "child" was actually 15. So unless she was SN, she wouldn't have been in a seat. Not sure about seatbelt usage. I'll see if I can find the article

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/28/1441893/five-dead-families-stranded-thousands.html

This one says they were all ejected from not wearing seatbelts.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/08/28/2554126/hurricane-irene-sunday-update.html

Four other children ejected in the same crash. No ages or restraint details.

Sent from my iPhone using Car-Seat.Org