Older Children Riding in Vehicles Unbuckled, Auto Club Says; Parents Urged to Reinforce Safety Belt Use Among All Children

LOS ANGELES--Feb. 9, 2004--Approximately 48 percent of children ages 8-15 killed in car crashes in California were not wearing their safety belts, exceeding the statewide level of 45 percent for adults, according to a one-year analysis of traffic data by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

According to the most recent California data available from 2002, 40 children who died in traffic crashes in the state were not wearing safety belts.

"It's tragic that these children were not properly restrained," said Arline Dillman, traffic safety manager for the Auto Club. "As kids get older, they may become less likely to wear their safety belts and become more likely to die in car crashes. Older children may also be riding in cars driven by teen-age siblings and friends, making it all the more important that they be buckled up. Parents and others need to make these older children into full-time safety belt users now."

The Auto Club is urging parents to reinforce proper safety belt and restraint use for children of all ages. Parents and others are urged to make Child Passenger Safety Week (Feb. 8, 2004-14) the impetus for reinforcing good safety belt habits.

Nationally, children ages 8 to 15 ride unbuckled and die in car crashes at rates approaching those of adults, according to recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

State data from the California Highway Patrol show that, in general, as children get older, their fatality levels go up and their safety belt use goes down. In 2002, 83 children ages 8-15 were killed while riding in cars.

"The Auto Club and the safety community have made great strides in improving safety seat use for young children, but there's still more that we can do to keep our kids safe," said Dillman. "Fortunately, keeping older children safe requires little more than making sure they use a safety belt every time they ride in a car. Habits formed now will last a lifetime."

The Auto Club reminds parents to read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for child restraints to ensure proper age, weight and fit requirements and that all children under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat. Additional child passenger safety information can be found online at www.aaapublicaffairs.com by clicking on "For Kid's Sake."

AAA's "Seated, Safe and Secure" campaign, designed to help promote passenger safety for children of all ages, was launched on the national association's 100th anniversary in 2002. The campaign focuses on closing loopholes in child passenger safety laws and changing behavior through public education efforts.