HB 2154 child restraint systems

Sponsor: McClain

AzNA Position: Support

Summary:

Requires children who are under 8 years of age that are not taller than 4’9” to be properly secured in a child restraint system.

Status:

5/9/12 Governor Brewer signed the bill into law. It is Chaptered as #314.

Action:

No further action legislatively. You can begin to plan on how you will modify your education courses to include the new safety language.

Talking Points:

• Arizona’s Department of Health Services (DHS) reports that children can suffer serious internal injuries, slip out of a seat belt, or be ejected from the vehicle during a crash if they are allowed to ride in adult seat belts before they are tall enough to safely be in a belt alone.
• Arizona’s current law requires children under 5 years of age to be restrained in a child safety seat. It also states that drivers who are carrying passengers under the age of 16 must require each passenger to be properly secured in a seat belt. Unfortunately, this combination of laws is providing misinformation by informing parents and caretakers that it is safe for a child older than 5 years of age to be in an adult seat belt when it is nationally recognized that seat belts are designed to only be used by adults. Until a child is tall enough, a child should be in a proper child restraint system, as determined by the parent or guardian.
• Though the rate of crash-related injuries has been decreasing since 2004, children between 5 and 9 years old are still at the greatest risk for injuries from seatbelts and have a higher percentage of inpatient hospitalizations than children younger than 5 years. As of January 2012, 47 states and the District of Columbia have laws that require children to be in a booster seat. Unfortunately, Arizona is one of three states (South Dakota and Florida are the others) without a law that protects children until they safely fit in a seat belt.
   

Child Safety Quick Facts

• In 2010, in Arizona, 93 percent of motor vehicle related deaths of children were determined to have been preventable. (Arizona Child Fatality Review Program, November 2011, 18th Annual Report)
• In 2010, all 5 of the five- to eight-year-old deaths due to a car crash were not properly restrained. (DHS Arizona Boost ‘em fact sheet)
• In 2010, 61 five- to eight-year-olds were hospitalized due to injuries from car crashes. (DHS Arizona Boost ‘em fact sheet)
• In 2010, 684 five- to eight-year-olds were treated in emergency rooms due to injuries from car crashes. (DHS Arizona Boost ‘em fact sheet)
• Children in seat belts alone are 4 times more likely to suffer head/brain injury as compared to children who use child safety seats and belt-positioning booster seats. (Partners for Child Passenger Safety)
• The proper use of a child restraint system can reduce a child's fatality risk by as much as 71 percent. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
• For children 5 through 8 years old, belt-positioning booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to seat belts alone. (DHS Arizona Boost ‘em fact sheet)