By Special to the Town Crier
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an estimated 4,193 children’s lives were saved from 1975 to 1998 by the use of safety belts and child restraints.
According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, 75 percent of all crashes occur within 25 miles of home. And most of those take place on roads with maximum speed limits of 40 mph or less.
In 1998, 1,765 children age 14 or younger were killed riding as passengers in motor vehicle accidents. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that motor vehicle crashes account for one in three injury deaths among children. Further, it states that crash injuries are the leading cause of death among 5-12-year olds.
“Restraints help people and cars move together,” said Christer Gustafsson, Senior Safety Engineer for Volvo Cars, Sweden. “Imagine trying to keep your balance in a standing room only train car as it lurches forward suddenly or stops abruptly without something to brace yourself with.”
Yet, Gustafsson said parents make plenty of excuses for not belting in their kids.
“People are just full of reasons for not belting backseat passengers,” he said. “School’s just three minutes away, we’re just going to the grocery store, or just over to friend’s house. We’re full of excuses. But in the end, if we don’t belt our children or for that matter any rear seat occupant, we’re setting them up for injuries or death. ‘Sorry’ doesn’t go very far then.”
But a young elephant?
“Unless one studies physics, the numbers seem unreal, but they are real,” Gustafsson said. “In the rapid deceleration that occurs at the moment of impact, a child’s “crash weight” increases dramatically, for instance, at 30 miles per hour, an unbelted 60-pound child will be hurled forward with a force that multiplies the impact approximately 45 times above normal; depending on the object collided with. At 42 miles per hour, those numbers rise to 75 to 150 times normal. So, in effect, the crash weight of a 60-pound child at 42 miles per hour can range from 4,500 to 9,000 pounds. That’s an astounding two to four tons, or about the weight of an elephant. A crushing force indeed.”
Seat belts also help retain the occupant within the safety structure of the cabin after the initial impact has occurred. Accidents might involve secondary impacts and rollovers. It is the seat belts that help keep the rear seated occupants strapped safely inside the vehicle until the energy of the accident has dissipated.
“During a rollover, the effect is very much like clothes in a washing machine during the spin cycle,” Gustafsson said. “There are huge forces that can easily eject occupants who are not using a seat belt.”
Gustafsson added that small children who have outgrown their toddler seat should use a booster cushion to help properly position the three-point seat belt.
The most important safety feature of all?
“I’m often asked, ‘What’s the most important safety feature in your Volvos?’ Gustafsson said. “With great fun, I say, ‘The driver.’ After all, the driver makes the decision to properly use safety devices we engineer into our cars. Using seat belts is so easy, if more people understand the law of physics, people would see the importance of using seat belts - in both front and rear seats. Parents should set the example by using their seat belts and insisting the rear seat passengers do the same. Offer your beloved children the same safety you do when you buckle up. Having everyone belted is a great gift of life and love.”
- courtesy of Volvo
