Child Passenger Safety Week - Comfort Guide Redux

FOR RELEASE: February 10, 2003

General Motors Provides 50 Million Good Reasons For Older Children To Use Their Safety Belts

Warren, Mich.- A small plastic safety belt clip invented by General Motors more than a decade ago has helped make vehicle travel safer and more comfortable for older children who have outgrown child seats, according to GM's top vehicle safety official.

GM has installed more than 50 million rear seat Comfort Guides since their debut in the fall of 1992. The comfort guide, standard on most GM vehicles, consists of a clip on a tether on the rear safety belt. When the clip is attached to the safety belt, it works to improve comfort by adjusting the angle of the shoulder belt slightly to help keep the belt from rubbing against a child's neck or cheek.

Child Passenger Safety Week, which continues through Saturday, is dedicated to increasing restraint use among children and to educating adults on how to properly restrain a child in a motor vehicle. And part of the key to increasing safety belt use is to make them more comfortable, said Robert C. Lange, GM executive director, structure and safety integration.

"We developed this device because we know that some children have a tendency to put the shoulder belt behind them if it is uncomfortable. In the event of a crash, this can be dangerous, and it puts children at further risk of injury or even death," Lange said.

"GM's Comfort Guide helps improve shoulder belt comfort; therefore, it helps encourage safety belt use. This is particularly important because crash statistics show that children are safer if they are restrained in the rear seating positions, properly restrained. We want children in the back seat, but we want them to be comfortable."

The Comfort Guide also benefits smaller adults sitting in rear seats.

In the U.S., motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death to children 14 and under. Riding unrestrained is the single greatest risk factor for death and injury among child motor vehicle occupants.

GM purchases more than eight million Child Comfort Guides each year from Peckham Incorporated, a Michigan-based, non-profit company that provides jobs for nearly 3,000 people with disabilities, youth and adult offenders, refugees, welfare recipients and others with employment challenges.

GM urges everyone to ride properly restrained - every time on every trip. Buckling up saves lives, and it's the law.

For information on how to properly restrain children in a motor vehicle, please visit www.ourpreciouscargo.com. For more information on GM's child passenger safety leadership, please visit www.gmability.com.

General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide, and has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM employs about 355,000 people around the world. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.