Using proper seats.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

The numbers speak for themselves:

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children in the United States 

In 2006, 1,354 child passengers younger than 8 were injured and six were killed in motor vehicle crashes in Oregon.

In 2004, an estimated 451 lives were saved nationally due to child restraints.

Given those statistics, you'd expect to see more parents using safety seats, but only 52 percent of Oregon children ages 5 through 8 years were in booster seats, according to numbers from the Alliance for Community Traffic Safety in Oregon. Booster seats raise children and ensure that safety belts fit across a child's chest and lap rather than a child's stomach and neck. They reduce the risk of injury by 59 percent compared to safety belts used alone.

Safety advocates are hoping recent changes to Oregon's Child Passenger Safety Law will increase the number of Oregon children in safety seats. The law, which took effect on July 1, raises the age and height limits for children who are secured with safety belts, and requires children to be restrained with booster seats until they are at least 8 years old or taller than 4 feet 9 inches. It also requires infants to ride in a rear-facing car seat until they reach 1 year of age and 20 pounds.

"I think it will provide a clear direction for families in understanding the laws," said Ruth Harshfield, executive director of the Alliance for Community Traffic Safety.

The new laws have the greatest potential impact on children ages 4 to 8 years old. That's the age group that has had the lowest rate of child restraint use, both nationally and in Oregon. Nationally, an estimated 90 percent of the children who should be using booster seats are not. Child safety advocates say many parents still don't understand the type of restraint system they should be using to help reduce the risk of injury and death.

That was the case for Autumn Skeen, who's 4-year-old son, Anton, was killed in a car crash in Washington state in 1996. Skeen was not aware that her son should have been riding in a booster seat rather than a seat belt. The law at that time did not require it.

Following the tragedy, Skeen became an advocate for more stringent child passenger safety laws. In 2000, Washington became the first state to pass a booster-seat law, and Anton's Law as it was known, became a model for other state legislation. Today there are booster seat laws in all 50 states.

Skeen now lives in Japan, and although she no longer actively campaigns for stricter child safety laws, she continues to keep an eye on new legislation. She says Oregon's new law is a step in the right direction, and urges parents to comply with it.

"If you're not going to do it to protect your children, do it to protect yourself, by doing the right thing," she said, speaking by phone from her home in Japan. "If something horrible should happen ... self recrimination will kill you if you didn't take advantage of the tools that are out there."

The four steps of child passenger safety

INFANTS

Use a rear-facing car seat to at least age 1 and 20 pounds. Use your rear-facing car seat longer if the seat has higher weight and height limits.

TODDLERS

Use a forward-facing car seat (convertible or combo seat) until the harness no longer fits. If your child exceeds the height and weight limits of the seat, or if your child's shoulders are above the top harness slots, or if your child's ears are above the top of the car seat, go to Step 3. (Note: Seat is secured to car using LATCH system.)

BOOSTERS

Use a booster seat with the vehicle lap and shoulder safety belts until your child passes the Safety Belt Fit Test. If your child exceeds the booster seat's height and weight limits and if your child passes the following test (below) in all vehicles you use, go to Step 4:

1. Have your child sit all the way back on the vehicle seat. Do the knees bend at the front edge of the seat? If they bend naturally, go to No. 2. If they don't, return to the booster seat.

2. Buckle the lap and shoulder belt. Be sure the lap belt rests on the upper legs or hips. If it does, go to No. 3. If it rests on the stomach, return to the booster seat.

3. Be sure the shoulder belt rests on the shoulder or collarbone. If it does, go to No. 4. If it's on the face or neck, return to the booster seat. Never put the shoulder belt under the child's arm or behind the child's back.

4. Check if your child maintains a correct seating position during entire time in car - if your child slouches or shifts positions so the safety belt touches the face, neck or stomach, return your child to the booster seat.

SAFETY BELTS

Once your child passes the Safety Belt Fit Test, require him or her to use safety belts in a back seat in every vehicle on every ride, whether or not you are there.

OREGON CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY LAW CHANGES

Oregon's child passenger safety laws have been updated with the passage of Senate Bill 182. The law, which took effect July 1, reflects recommendations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics 

What the new law requires: 1. Infants must ride in rear-facing child safety seats until they reach both one year of age AND 20 pounds. 2. Children who weigh more than 40 pounds must be properly secured in a booster seat until they are age 8 OR 4 feet 9 inches in height. 3. Children who are age 8 or older OR are taller than 4 feet 9 inches must ride properly secured with the safety belt system.

The law continues to require: Children older than 1 year old and between 20 and 40 pounds must be properly secured with a forward-facing child safety seat up to a minimum of 40 pounds or the weight limit of the seat.

Penalties: Failure to abide by the law is a Class D traffic violation and carries a $97 fine.

HOW TO ENSURE PROPER

SAFETY SEAT INSTALLATION

An estimated four out of five child safety seats are improperly installed. Here are a few ways to ensure your child is riding safely:

Clinics: Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians regularly host safety seat clinics to check for correct installation, damage, recalls and size and age appropriateness. A full schedule of clinics by the Alliance for Community Traffic Safety, an organization based in Beaverton, can be found at its Web site: www.childsafetyseat.org.

Upcoming clinic: The next ACTS clinic in the Eugene-Springfield area is scheduled for Aug. 25 at Ray's Food Place, 150 Oroyan Ave., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Appointments: You can make an appointment with a local technician to check your child safety seat by calling ACTS at [phone].

On the Web: You can find more information about proper installation at www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm. Educational materials are also available at www.usa.safekids.org, www.nhtsa.gov and www.childsafetyseat.org. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia offers online videos of proper installation at www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=77971.