A motor vehicle accident is one of the greatest threats to the life of a child. But since the enaction of Pennsylvania\u2019s Child Restraint Law in 1993, many lives have been saved and serious injuries have been reduced.
\nTo recognize the important practice of \u201cbuckling up,\u201d Pennsylvania has dedicated the week of Feb. 9-15 as Child Passenger Safety Week.
\n\u201cProper use of car seats and seat belts is critical,\u201d said Basil Selden, M.D., medical director of Tyrone Hospital. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to see people end up in the emergency room that could be prevented.\u201d
\nSelden said this week is a \u201cgood time\u201d for parents to review their child\u2019s safety in the family vehicle.
\nThe state Department of Transportation has provided the following rules to help you use your car seat correctly:
\n\u2022Read both the car seat instructions and the vehicle owner\u2019s manual before installing car seats;
\n\u2022All children under 13 should ride in the back seat;
\n\u2022When installing your child\u2019s car seat place your weight on the car seat. Lock the seatbelt according to the vehicle\u2019s instructions on seat belts or in the owner\u2019s manual. Check the installation to allow no more than one inch of side-to-side or forward movement;
\n\u2022Infants should ride rear facing and semi-reclined to no more than 45 degrees until at least age one and 20 pounds. Remember, never place a rear facing infant in front of a passenger side air bag. Place the harness in the slots at or below the shoulders. Tighten the harness until it lies in a relatively straight line without any slack or sagging, but not so tight as to press into the child\u2019s body causing discomfort. Adjust the chest clip on the harness to armpit level (if manufacturer provides one.);
\n\u2022Toddlers ride forward facing and upright once they reach age one and 20 pounds. Children should stay in the forward facing seat with a harness until they are 40 pounds. Place the harness through the top reinforced slots on the seat (unless instructions say otherwise). Tighten the harness until it lies in a relatively straight line without any slack or sagging as indicated above. Place chest clip at armpit level;
\n\u2022NHTSA recommends all children who have outgrown child safety seats should be properly restrained in a booster seat until they are at least 8-years-old and approximately four-feet, nine-inches tall. Use the belt positioning booster seat with a lap\/shoulder belt properly adjusted to fit a small child over the hips and shoulders;
\n\u2022For children over eight and adults, use a properly positioned seat belt. Properly positioned means that the shoulder belts is across the shoulder and lap belt is low and snug across the hips. Never place a shoulder belt behind the back or under the arm.
\nAs part of the national \u201cChild Passenger Safety Week,\u201d the Blair County Safe Kids Coalition, the Altoona Hospital, the Pennsylvania State Police and Penn Dot District 9 will conduct two child safety seat inspections.
\nThe first will be held 2-5 p.m. today at Thomas Chevrolet Auto Care in Duncansville, and the second will be held from 1-5 p.m. Friday at Dean Patterson\u2019s Chevrolet on Valley View Boulevard in Altoona.
\nState police in Hollidaysburg will offer seat inspections all week, from noon until 3 p.m.
\nParents are encouraged to bring their vehicles with the car seats to the check point area in the parking lot.
\nThe Blair County Safe Kids will provide educational materials that will be distributed to parents and caregivers. The poignant handouts feature children who have lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes as a result of riding unrestrained.
\n\u201cAlthough significant progress has been made to educate parents about the correct use of restraints, there is still much work to do to get parents to use appropriate restraints on each and every trip they take with their children, whether it\u2019s a short trip to the grocery store or a road trip to grandma\u2019s house,\u201d said Sherry Turchetta, coordinator of BCSKC.
\nCertified technicians will inform parents of a new law that requires children under eight years of age to travel in a booster seat. This new Pennsylvania law takes effect Friday, Feb. 21, 2003.
\nThis secondary law states children between the ages of four and eight must be secured in an appropriate fitting booster seat and children between ages eight and 18 must be secured anywhere in the vehicle in a seatbelt system. For example, the driver must be cited for speeding before he or she could be cited for a violation of this law.
\nViolation of Pennsylvania\u2019s new child passenger safety law carries a maximum fine up to $100 for not securing children less than eight years of age and under in an approved child restraint system. Failure to secure children between eight and 18 carries a fine of $10.
\nOne of the most effective ways to reach parents regarding child passenger safety is at the hospital immediately after the birth of their baby.
\nLinda Wertz, RN, head nurse at Tyrone Hospital\u2019s Obstetrics and Gynecology Unit and Newborn Nursery said Tyrone Hospital provides a variety of materials to parents to increase their awareness of child passenger safety. An information packet made up of materials provided by PENNDOT and the Pennsylvania Traffic Injury Prevention Project are distributed to parents while they are at the hospital.
\n\u201cWe also require parents to bring their infant car seat to the hospital with them,\u201d said Wertz. \u201cThe nursing staff checks to be sure the car seat is within legal safety limits and we provide assistance regarding how to place and position the infant in the seat. There is also a video available for parents to view.\u201d
\nChild passenger safety information is also presented in the prenatal education classes provided at Tyrone Hospital. Wertz said parents who attend the prenatal classes get safety information well in advance of the birth of their child.
\nWertz said parents of newborns do seem aware of passenger safety.
\n\u201cIt is very rare to see parents come to the hospital without an infant car seat and some awareness safety,\u201d she said.
\nFor more information about child passenger safety, call 1-800-CAR-BELT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A motor vehicle accident is one of the greatest threats to the life of a child. But since the enaction of Pennsylvania\u2019s Child Restraint Law in 1993, many lives have been saved and serious injuries have been reduced. To recognize the important practice of \u201cbuckling up,\u201d Pennsylvania has dedicated the week of Feb. 9-15 as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47023\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}