Better buckled up than being broken up

Traffic-induced injuries are the leading cause of injury deaths in the United States. Restraint systems are the most effective safety devices in vehicles today, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

That is, if people use them.

Some of those most at risk are children and many are not being restrained properly, Donna Gradias, childbirth education coordinator at Yuma Regional Medical Center, said. Since 2000, Gradias has also been a certified technician for car seat safety.

"Eight out of 10 car seats are improperly installed," Gradias said.

Gradias said residents who would like to have their car seat checked for safety compliance should telephone her at 336-7058.

"I am really happy to spend five minutes on a car seat rather than five hours dealing with the death of a child or a lifetime of dealing with an injured child," she said.

In Arizona all children under the age of five must be in a car seat restraint system that is designed for the age and weight of child.

And children one year and under must be in a rear facing position in the rear seat.

Booster seats for older children are also recommended and can accommodate someone weighing up to 80 pounds, Gradias said.

"If children are six or seven I would still keep them in a booster because their much less prone to injury than using a lap and shoulder belt," she said.

Car seats are 75 to 80 percent effective when used in a correct manner, Jim Miller, injury prevention program coordinator at Yuma County Public Health Services, said.

"I see a lot of parents riding along holding a kid in a lap," Miller said. "Even if they break rapidly without hitting anything they won't be able to hold onto the kid. The G-forces (force of acceleration) will rip the kid right out their hands."

Miller noted there are two types of car seats and the convertible kind are preferable to infant-only type. Convertible car seats, accommodating children up to 35 pounds, are rear-facing. Some infants grow to more than 20 pounds before the first birthday, when they are still required to be restrained in a rear-facing position.

Before moving a child from a booster to a belt, parents need to check whether their child's legs bend naturally at the edge of the seat. If their legs can't reach over the edge, children have the tendency to move forward in the seat. The seat belt then tends to ride up and can stress internal organs and may lacerate the liver and spleen in a crash. It is then better to still use the booster, cautioned Miller.

In 2000, the latest year for which data is available, the economic cost of all car crashes in the U.S. was $230.6 billion, according to Elly Martin, National Highway Safety Administration spokeswoman.

"In 2006 42,642 people died on U.S. roads," Martin said. "That's phenomenal. Can you imagine if that figure was for any other cause what we'd do."

There were 15,383 lives saved by seat belts in 2006, she noted. If seat belt use was increased to 90 percent, an additional 2,483 lives per year could be saved. The rate of seat belt use was 81 percent for the U.S. and 78.9 percent for Arizona, she added.

Seat belts do two things: they restrain people from hitting other people or objects in the vehicle and they keep people from being ejected from the vehicle, Miller explained.

In a crash, everyone in the car continues traveling at the same speed as the car was traveling until they hit the dash, steering wheel, or a seat in front of them. One unrestrained passenger could potentially kill another just from the force of their flying torso, Miller said.

If a person is ejected from a car, chances are good the car will follow the same path as the person and it will roll over or flip on top of that person, he noted.

A head injury sustained in a crash may crack the skull and cause hematoma, a swelling of the brain and stroke-like conditions. This may result in speech problems or even paralyze the breathing muscles, requiring a respirator, he said.

"The chances of surviving a crash are tremendously less without a seat belt," Miller said. "Seat belts provide a 'ride down' effect, allowing you to slow down gradually and survive crashes."


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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.