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Statewide Decline in Child Safety Restraint Use (WA)
Posted by: "Joseph M. Colella" ColellaSafety@comcast.net jmcolella
Fri Dec 7, 2007 2:15 pm (PST)
WSU Researchers Report Statewide Decline in Child Safety Restraint Use
By Robert Strenge, WSU News Service
Washingtonians may lead the nation in buckling up when they drive, but
recent research at Washington State University shows the state's drivers are
not nearly so conscientious when it comes to providing proper child safety
restraints for the children riding with them.
A study conducted by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission in the Fall of
2007 showed more than 96 percent of Washington's drivers are buckling
themselves up when they hit the road.
In contrast, only roughly half the children weighing under 40 pounds and
less than 18 percent of children weighing between 40 and 80 pounds were
found to be properly restrained in child safety seats or booster seats
during the initial phase of a statewide study conducted by WSU recently on
behalf of the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.
Perhaps even more discouraging to primary researchers Nicholas Lovrich and
Steven Stehr of the WSU Department of Political Science /Criminal Justice
Program was the finding that the use of proper child safety restraint
systems has declined across the state since they initially began studying
the issue in 2000, even though seatbelt usage by drivers during the same
period has steadily increased.
"This is the seventh year we have done this type of study and our main
finding is that there has been considerable 'backsliding' in the use of both
child safety seats for smaller children and booster seats for larger
children," said Stehr, associate professor and department chair. "This is a
puzzle, frankly, because there is typically a strong correlation between
adult seatbelt and child safety restraint use."
The recent study reports that the use of proper child restraint systems
statewide generally increased during the period between 2000 and 2004, but
has steadily declined for the past three years.
Because the initial phase of the recent study involved only field
observations at various locations across the state, Stehr said the
researchers have yet to compile data to be used in attempting to identify
the major factors contributing to the declining trend. Those factors are
expected to be addressed in the second phase of the research, which is
expected to take place in 2008.
The researchers' most recent study indicates approximately 51 percent of
children weighing less than 40 pounds were observed riding in an infant
safety seat - a significant decline from the nearly 77 percent rate of child
seat usage initially observed by the researchers in the 2000. For the
40-to-80-pound weight group, only about 17 percent were recently observed
riding in proper booster seats, By comparison, slightly more than 22 percent
of children in the 40-to-80-pound range were properly seated in 2000 and as
many as 49 percent of those in that group were identified as properly seated
as recently as 2004.
Lovrich cautioned that the study findings should not be taken as an
indication that large numbers of children were observed riding with no
safety restraints at all, but rather that they were seated in restraining
systems considered improper by safety experts and illegal under state law.
"Generally speaking, children are not being transported unrestrained. In
fact, only about two percent of the smallest children and six percent of the
larger children were observed riding in vehicles unrestrained," Lovrich
said.
"But the smallest children observed - those under 40 pounds - were just
about as likely to be riding in a booster seat intended for a larger child
or restrained by some type of adult seatbelt system as to be in a proper
child safety seat," he said.
Observers also found that children between 40 and 80 pounds were more than
four times more likely to be seated in vehicle seatbelts than in a proper
booster seat (76.9 percent versus 17.5 percent), Lovrich said.
According to traffic safety professionals, the use of booster seats or
seatbelts for children under 40 pounds and the use of seatbelts for larger
children up to 80 pounds is unsafe. Under Washington state law, child safety
seats are required for all children under 40 pounds. Booster seats are
required for all children between 40 and 80 pounds until such time as they
reach either a height of 57 inches or the age of eight. The law also
requires that all children under the age of 13 must be seated in rear seats
of the vehicle when practical. Drivers who transport improperly restrained
children in motor vehicles can be fined at least $112 per child.
Stehr said also that a detailed breakdown of the study data provides
researchers with information that can be characterized as somewhat
encouraging from a child safety perspective. As an example, he said that
between 94 and 97 percent of the children weighing under 40 pounds were
found to be properly located either in the back seat or in the far back seat
of the vehicle - an observation which has remained fairly consistent through
each of the studies conducted since 2000.
Another example is that a very high percentage of children aged one year old
or less - up to 99 percent, in certain instances - were found to be seated
in a proper child safety seat, he said.
"However, the study shows also that this rate of safety seat usage for
children aged one and under declines to 44.3 percent for children between
the ages of 2 and 3 years and that over half of these children were observed
seated in either a booster seat or a seat belt of some kind," Stehr said.
"This seems to suggest there's initially a widespread appreciation of the
importance of providing proper safety seating during infancy, but that it
falls off fairly precipitously for some reason."
Lovrich noted that the researchers' prior studies have indicated that the
type of vehicle driven impacts child safety restraint use, and that child
safety restraint usage remains lower across the state for pickup truck
drivers than for drivers other types of vehicles.
When observing children weighing less than 40 pounds, pickup truck drivers
were shown in the recent study to be using a child safety seat 46.2 percent
of the time. The highest rate of safety seat usage by the smallest children
in the study was observed by drivers of sport utility vehicles (51.6
percent) and drivers of sedans (51.6 percent). Drivers of vans or station
wagons were only slightly behind this rate (50.0 percent).
While only a small percentage of van/station wagon, or SUV drivers utilized
lap or lap/shoulder belts when transporting infants, fully 31.5 percent of
pickup drivers in this study were using a seat belt to restrain smaller
children. It should be noted, however, that drivers of sedans also were
observed utilizing seat belts for these children approximately 20.8 percent
of the time, Lovrich said.
Nicholas P. Lovrich Jr. has been the WSU Claudius O. and Mary W. Johnson
Distinguished Professor of Political Science since 1998, and has served as
the Director of the Division of Governmental Studies and Services at
Washington State University for the past 30 years.
Steven D. Stehr was the founding director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute
for Public Policy and Public Service at WSU, and served as interim director
of the institute from 1995 to 1998. An associate professor of political
science, he has served as the chair of the WSU Department of Political
Science /Criminal Justice Program since 2002.
Only roughly half the children weighing under 40 pounds and less than 18
percent of children weighing between 40 and 80 pounds were found to be
properly restrained in child safety seats or booster seats during the
initial phase of a statewide study conducted by WSU recently on behalf of
the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.
Posted by: "Joseph M. Colella" ColellaSafety@comcast.net jmcolella
Fri Dec 7, 2007 2:15 pm (PST)
WSU Researchers Report Statewide Decline in Child Safety Restraint Use
By Robert Strenge, WSU News Service
Washingtonians may lead the nation in buckling up when they drive, but
recent research at Washington State University shows the state's drivers are
not nearly so conscientious when it comes to providing proper child safety
restraints for the children riding with them.
A study conducted by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission in the Fall of
2007 showed more than 96 percent of Washington's drivers are buckling
themselves up when they hit the road.
In contrast, only roughly half the children weighing under 40 pounds and
less than 18 percent of children weighing between 40 and 80 pounds were
found to be properly restrained in child safety seats or booster seats
during the initial phase of a statewide study conducted by WSU recently on
behalf of the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.
Perhaps even more discouraging to primary researchers Nicholas Lovrich and
Steven Stehr of the WSU Department of Political Science /Criminal Justice
Program was the finding that the use of proper child safety restraint
systems has declined across the state since they initially began studying
the issue in 2000, even though seatbelt usage by drivers during the same
period has steadily increased.
"This is the seventh year we have done this type of study and our main
finding is that there has been considerable 'backsliding' in the use of both
child safety seats for smaller children and booster seats for larger
children," said Stehr, associate professor and department chair. "This is a
puzzle, frankly, because there is typically a strong correlation between
adult seatbelt and child safety restraint use."
The recent study reports that the use of proper child restraint systems
statewide generally increased during the period between 2000 and 2004, but
has steadily declined for the past three years.
Because the initial phase of the recent study involved only field
observations at various locations across the state, Stehr said the
researchers have yet to compile data to be used in attempting to identify
the major factors contributing to the declining trend. Those factors are
expected to be addressed in the second phase of the research, which is
expected to take place in 2008.
The researchers' most recent study indicates approximately 51 percent of
children weighing less than 40 pounds were observed riding in an infant
safety seat - a significant decline from the nearly 77 percent rate of child
seat usage initially observed by the researchers in the 2000. For the
40-to-80-pound weight group, only about 17 percent were recently observed
riding in proper booster seats, By comparison, slightly more than 22 percent
of children in the 40-to-80-pound range were properly seated in 2000 and as
many as 49 percent of those in that group were identified as properly seated
as recently as 2004.
Lovrich cautioned that the study findings should not be taken as an
indication that large numbers of children were observed riding with no
safety restraints at all, but rather that they were seated in restraining
systems considered improper by safety experts and illegal under state law.
"Generally speaking, children are not being transported unrestrained. In
fact, only about two percent of the smallest children and six percent of the
larger children were observed riding in vehicles unrestrained," Lovrich
said.
"But the smallest children observed - those under 40 pounds - were just
about as likely to be riding in a booster seat intended for a larger child
or restrained by some type of adult seatbelt system as to be in a proper
child safety seat," he said.
Observers also found that children between 40 and 80 pounds were more than
four times more likely to be seated in vehicle seatbelts than in a proper
booster seat (76.9 percent versus 17.5 percent), Lovrich said.
According to traffic safety professionals, the use of booster seats or
seatbelts for children under 40 pounds and the use of seatbelts for larger
children up to 80 pounds is unsafe. Under Washington state law, child safety
seats are required for all children under 40 pounds. Booster seats are
required for all children between 40 and 80 pounds until such time as they
reach either a height of 57 inches or the age of eight. The law also
requires that all children under the age of 13 must be seated in rear seats
of the vehicle when practical. Drivers who transport improperly restrained
children in motor vehicles can be fined at least $112 per child.
Stehr said also that a detailed breakdown of the study data provides
researchers with information that can be characterized as somewhat
encouraging from a child safety perspective. As an example, he said that
between 94 and 97 percent of the children weighing under 40 pounds were
found to be properly located either in the back seat or in the far back seat
of the vehicle - an observation which has remained fairly consistent through
each of the studies conducted since 2000.
Another example is that a very high percentage of children aged one year old
or less - up to 99 percent, in certain instances - were found to be seated
in a proper child safety seat, he said.
"However, the study shows also that this rate of safety seat usage for
children aged one and under declines to 44.3 percent for children between
the ages of 2 and 3 years and that over half of these children were observed
seated in either a booster seat or a seat belt of some kind," Stehr said.
"This seems to suggest there's initially a widespread appreciation of the
importance of providing proper safety seating during infancy, but that it
falls off fairly precipitously for some reason."
Lovrich noted that the researchers' prior studies have indicated that the
type of vehicle driven impacts child safety restraint use, and that child
safety restraint usage remains lower across the state for pickup truck
drivers than for drivers other types of vehicles.
When observing children weighing less than 40 pounds, pickup truck drivers
were shown in the recent study to be using a child safety seat 46.2 percent
of the time. The highest rate of safety seat usage by the smallest children
in the study was observed by drivers of sport utility vehicles (51.6
percent) and drivers of sedans (51.6 percent). Drivers of vans or station
wagons were only slightly behind this rate (50.0 percent).
While only a small percentage of van/station wagon, or SUV drivers utilized
lap or lap/shoulder belts when transporting infants, fully 31.5 percent of
pickup drivers in this study were using a seat belt to restrain smaller
children. It should be noted, however, that drivers of sedans also were
observed utilizing seat belts for these children approximately 20.8 percent
of the time, Lovrich said.
Nicholas P. Lovrich Jr. has been the WSU Claudius O. and Mary W. Johnson
Distinguished Professor of Political Science since 1998, and has served as
the Director of the Division of Governmental Studies and Services at
Washington State University for the past 30 years.
Steven D. Stehr was the founding director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute
for Public Policy and Public Service at WSU, and served as interim director
of the institute from 1995 to 1998. An associate professor of political
science, he has served as the chair of the WSU Department of Political
Science /Criminal Justice Program since 2002.
Only roughly half the children weighing under 40 pounds and less than 18
percent of children weighing between 40 and 80 pounds were found to be
properly restrained in child safety seats or booster seats during the
initial phase of a statewide study conducted by WSU recently on behalf of
the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission.
