AAA Kicks off Child Passenger Safety Week with Simple Questions to Help Parents Keep Their Children Safe.

Business Editors/Automotive Writers

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2003

With changing laws and a variety of child safety seats on the market, AAA has put together a list of simple questions to help them answer their most important question: "Am I keeping my child safe?"

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of children between ages 4 and 14, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2001 alone, over 1,579 child passengers were killed and 228,000 more were injured in car crashes. Every day, four child passengers age 14 and younger are killed and 600 more are injured in car crashes.

To reduce this fatality rate, AAA is participating in National Child Passenger Safety Week, February 9-15. As the association continues to advocate for stronger laws in states across the country, it also wants to help parents ensure that they are doing their best to keep their children safe while riding in the car. AAA has compiled a series of simple questions that parents can ask themselves to help protect their children:

1) Is your child sitting in the right spot? - NHTSA recommends that children 12 and younger ride in the back seat, where they are generally safest in the event of a crash. Research shows that children are almost 40 percent less likely to be killed in a crash if they are riding in the back seat. Rear-facing child seats should never be placed in front of an airbag.

2) Will a seat belt fit your child properly? - A child fits properly in a seat belt when she can sit with her back straight against the seat back cushion and her knees bent over the edge of the seat. The seat belt should fit low and tight across a child's lap/upper thigh area and snugly cross the chest and shoulder. With older children, a booster seat can help position the seat belt to maximize safety and reduce injury.

3) Should your child be in a booster seat, child seat, or infant seat? - If your child is too small to use a seat belt, then he needs some form of approved safety seat. Check the seat manufacturer's instructions booklet to be sure that your child is the appropriate height, weight, and age for the seat. These limits vary among different manufacturers and models of infant, child, and booster seats.

4) Is the safety seat installed properly in your car? - Instructions on the seat and in the seat's instruction booklet should explain how to install the seat properly. Your car's owner's manual provides additional information. If you need help, you can find a AAA-certified technician at www.aaapublicaffairs.com, then selecting "For Kids' Sake".

5) Is the safety seat installed tightly enough? - When you tug on the car seat where the seat belt passes through it, you should not be able to move the seat more than one inch in any direction. If the seat moves, you need to tighten the belt. Parents should check this every time they use the seat.

6) Are the harness straps routed properly? -The straps should route through the appropriate slots, ensuring the straps are at or above the shoulder for forward-facing seats and at or below the shoulder for rear-facing seats. Additionally, the straps should not be twisted.

7) Is the harness buckled securely? - Cheerios, cookies and other crumbs can fall into the latch of the buckle, causing it to fail to snap securely. Be sure to check all moving parts regularly and tug against the latch after snapping the child in to be sure that it is buckled firmly.

8) Are the harness straps tight enough? - The harness should be snug and lie flat on the child so that no slack can be pinched in the straps. Mistakes are often made during cold weather when children wear bulky clothing.

9) Is the retainer clip in the right place?- The retainer clip should be at the child's armpit level when the harness is snug.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its almost 46 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers.