Boost Awareness Road Tour To Distribute Car Seats And Educate Families In Underserved Indiana Counties
Indianapolis-- The Boost Awareness Road Tour will arrive tomorrow in Daviess and Knox counties. The tour is sponsored by the Automotive Safety for Children Program at Riley Hospital in cooperation with the Indiana GovernorAs Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving. Nearly 900 child safety seats and booster seats will be distributed throughout Indiana during the campaign.
The Automotive Safety for Children Program staff will arrive at Daviess County a Southwest Medical facility in Washington at 10 a.m. (210 S. Meridian), and then travel to Knox CountyAs Red Cross in Vincennes at 1 p.m. (525 N. 4th St.). The ASFC staff, working with the police agencies, community agencies, social service agencies, and advocates, has identified the families in the communities who will receive the seats.
The statewide tour was designed to educate families in both rural and urban areas about the importance of using child safety seats and booster seats. The Automotive Safety for Children staff will travel to 16 underserved counties, where car seats will be distributed.
Indiana state law says that children up to three years old must be in a child safety seat. Children three to four years old must be in a child safety seat or seat belt. However, properly restraining children requires education of child passenger safety measures beyond what is required by law, L said Attorney General Jeff Modisett, chairman of the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving.
Child safety seats are frequently misused. National statistics show that up to 90% of all child safety seats are used incorrectly in some way, decreasing their effectiveness and ability to protect children. A 1997 Automotive Safety for Children Program survey of 11 Indiana cities reported that more than two-thirds of children in child safety seats were improperly secured.
"Parents are often unaware of the potential life threatening consequences for children who are not appropriately restrained," said Marilyn Bull, M.D., medical director of the Automotive Safety for Children Program, professor of pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine, and chairwoman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Injury and Poison Prevention.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ride in child safety seats until they weigh 40 pounds. Once children weigh between 40-60 pounds, the Academy recommends that they ride in booster seats.
Restraining small children in seat belts is unsafe. Seat belts, made for adults, do not fit children and also can be uncomfortable. Children may attempt to place the shoulder portion of the belt behind their backs or under their arms.
"Seat belts alone may not adequately protect small children. Booster seats can provide better protection for children who have outgrown child safety seats," said Judy Sheese, Ph.D., the director of the Automotive Safety for Children Program.
The Automotive Safety for Children staff will be working with police agencies, community agencies, social service agencies and advocates to identify families in each community who will receive the seats. Staff also will train parents and community representatives how to install and correctly use child safety and booster seats.
Along with the Automotive Safety for Children staff, Indiana State Police representatives will be present at tour stops. UOfficers at every state post will be trained how to identify child safety seat misuse and to answer questions about child safety seats,L said Melvin Carraway, Indiana State Police superintendent.
In addition, the Automotive Safety for Children Program will issue troopers wallet-sized information cards with child safety seat guidelines. The cards will aide officers during routine traffic stops to recognize improper car seat use and to enable them to give parents information about their childAs safety. By training troopers at each post to answer child safety seat questions, parents will have a community resource to help insure safe car seat use.
The Allstate Foundation, Inc. provided partial funding for this campaign.
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