Report backs seat belts for all ages

Press, 18 April 1979, Page 2

Report backs seat belts for all ages

PA Wellington Children should be banned from travelling in front seats of cars without restraints, says the Piunket Society. In a report based on an extensive car-safety investigation, the society says compulsory seat belts should be seriously considered, and that many parents would favour them. The investigation, which investigated where children sit in cars and whether they wear restraints, asked 3315 parents about their attitudes to child car seats. 1 ne society concludes that throughout New Zealand driving habits with children in cars are “uniformly bad.” Only a fifth of all children are properly restrained, a third travel in front where the risk of injury is greatest, and only half of all infants aged between six months and a year are transported safely, the report says. "Though the survey is not entirely scientific. it is nevertheless extremely thorough and reasonably accurate,” Dr D. Geddis, the Piunket Society’s director of medical services, said. “Because of its sheer, scale, if we ignore the findings we will continue to imperil our children,” he said. Of all developed countries., New Zealand and Canada! share the worst child-acci-dent record, according to the report. Road accidents are the I greatest cause of death and! injury to children between! the ages of one and 14. One’ or two children die and 46! are injured every week. In 1959, New Zealand and! Sweden had about the samel pre-school death rate from: road accidents. By 1972. | Sweden had halved its rate and New Zealand’s had more' than doubled, the report) says. Volunteers from more; than 50 Piunket branches' made street-corner observa-i tions of cars carrying a total of 17,155 children, and corn-] pared them with responses] by parents to a question-: naire. This comparison con-j firmed that people do not always do what they think j they do, or say they do. For instance, 83 per cent' of said their child’

j; nearly always travelled in . the back seat; observations 1 showed that 31 per cent t travelled in front. Fifty-two per cent of parents said their child always or usually used some sort of restraint; but observations 1 showed that only 20 per - cent were restrained. . Observers noted that 32 1 per cent of infants travelled 1 in the front seat on a parI ent’s knee, indicating that parents believed this method jito be safe. Parents should i realise that in a crash at , ;only 16 km/h a baby’s j I weight could equal 90kg . ‘which is impossible to hold on to, the report says. tj "Because car seats are the 1: best method of restraining i - children between six months and four years, the Piunket II Society tested seven different kinds given by five . manufacturers.” it says. ■ The seats were tested by . , Dunedin families over sev:feral months. The over-all re- ; sponse w’as positive but . some flaws were found. The society now recommends .that manufacturers agree on common points about the I type of harness used, the . type of buckle, and the . method of installation. In installing the seats, it | seems that some cars are not designed with child seats Jin mind and some of the car : seats depend on fittings not ! always present in the car. according to the report. J The society wants to ’examine the possibility of: . setting up a car-seat rental

i,system as a means of pros (noting their wider use and t to illustrate their effectiveness. Overseas research shows s.that proper restraining def; vices for children aged s under five could save the r lives of 90 per cent of children who would otherwise be 2 killed. Injuries could be rei duced 78 per cent. Greater attention needs to t be given to the education of i parents, the report says. The d Plunket Society recommends tithat the Government look at si ways of lowering prices on g approved restraints, perhaps j'.bv tax deduction. “Reports of our survey ej will be. made available to all I j parties concerned with road ;; safety, and the Plunket t[Society will be keen to sup--iport any move to improve ?lthe safety of our children,” Dr Geddis said. v| Plunket has issued the fol- - flowing advice: - — Do not let your child titravel in the front seat. el — Do not use a child’s J seat that only hooks over lithe car seat. Choose one ‘■that requires secure fittings. — Do not travel in the d front seat with an infant on Ivour knee. — Do not use adult seat- ■ belts on children aged under ; eight vears. — Do try to fit appropriate restraints for your i child. — Do remember that alii '■children aged over eight years must be restrained in the front seat.