Data Show Older Children Dying More
Frequently, Not Buckling Up in Car Crashes, Says AAA Chicago
Children ages 8 to 15 ride unbuckled and die in car crashes at
rates approaching those of adults, according to recent federal data. AAA
Chicago urges parents to use Child Passenger Safety Week (Feb. 8-14) to
reinforce the importance of proper seat belt and restraint use with children of
all ages.
"As kids get older, they become less likely to wear their seat belts and become
more likely to die in car crashes," said Steve Nolan, AAA Chicago spokesman.
"These 8-15 year-olds will soon be riding in cars driven by teenage 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 seat belt users now."
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that as
children get older, their fatality rates go up and their seat belt usage goes
down. In 2002 (the most recent year available), 1,209 children ages 8-15 were
killed while riding in cars-up 8 percent from 2001. Other age groups of
children (0-3 and 4-7) saw fatalities decrease by 6 percent and 15 percent,
respectively, during the same period. More than half (56 percent) of the older
children killed in car crashes were not wearing their seat belts, a rate that
approaches the 58 percent non-use rate for adults in fatal crashes.
"AAA 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 Nolan. "Fortunately, keeping older children safe requires little
more than making sure they use a seat belt every time they ride in a car. The
habits they form now will last a lifetime."
AAA 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 Kids' Sake."
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