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State Provides 9,000 Child Safety Seats For Low-Income Children

15 February 2000

State Provides 9,000 Child Safety Seats For Low-Income Children; Parents Urged to Transition Older or Bigger Children to Booster Seats Before Adult Seat Belts

    RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 14 -- State highway safety advocates
today announced a Valentine's Day gift that will help North Carolina children
travel more safely:  About 9,000 child safety seats have been purchased by the
Governor's Highway Safety Program and will be provided at no cost to low-
income North Carolina families.
    "Needy families will not be forced to make a decision between putting food
on the table or transporting their children safely," said State Transportation
Secretary David McCoy during a kickoff event this morning at North Hills Fire
Station No. 9.  "While we won't be able to provide a seat for every child that
needs one, this effort will go a long way in giving 9,000 children a good
start for a safe and productive future."
    Seats will be available to agencies that serve low-income families through
the Department of Insurance's NC SAFE KIDS Buckle Up program.  For a referral
to their local coordinator, agencies and individuals may call 1-877-363-2405
during regular business hours.
    McCoy joined GHSP Director Joe Parker and Insurance Commissioner Jim Long
to remind families and others who travel with children that North Carolina law
requires all children up to age 16 to ride buckled up, no matter where they
sit in the vehicle.  In addition, all children up to age 5 must be buckled
into weight-appropriate child passenger safety seats -- in the back seat, if
the vehicle has an active passenger-side airbag.
    The Secretary noted that parents are increasingly placing their children
in the back seat, which is the safest place for children up to age 12, but
noted that many switch their children to adult seat belts far too soon.
    "I want to be clear in my message to parents," said McCoy, father of two
young daughters.  "When children outgrow forward-facing convertible seats,
they need to be restrained in belt-positioning booster seats -- until they are
big enough to fit properly in an adult seat belt.  Children who cannot sit
with their back straight against the vehicle seat back cushions, with knees
bent over a vehicle's seat edge without slouching, are not big enough for
adult seat belts."
    The rule of thumb is that children generally outgrow convertible child
safety seats when they are about 40 pounds in weight.  From about 40 to 80
pounds, and about 4-foot 9-inches tall, children should always be seated in a
belt-positioning booster.  Booster seats "lift" a child up so adult
lap/shoulder seat belts are positioned correctly and safely.  That lift also
gives children better visibility and comfort.
    Commissioner Long announced that firefighters at the North Hills Fire
Station No. 9 have completed the two-day child passenger safety training and
are prepared to help families safely install and correctly use child passenger
safety seats.  "This is a pilot project right now, but our long-term goal is
to establish permanent checking stations across the state," he said.
    Long asked parents to make their own buckle-up "law" even tougher than the
high standard set by the state.
    "Take an extra minute to make certain that children are secured in weight-
appropriate restraints -- first a child safety seat, then a belt-positioning
booster seat, and finally, when they are physically big enough for it to fit
correctly, an adult lap and shoulder belt," Long said.  "And make sure your
children understand that your law applies, even when they travel with someone
else.  No matter who is driving, no matter how long or short the trip,
everyone buckles up, and all children under 12 ride in the back."
    Also speaking at the event was Felicia Mayo of Knightdale, whose 7-year-
old son survived a car crash on New Year's Eve.  The child was riding buckled
up in the front seat and was struck in the face when a passenger-side airbag
deployed upon impact.  The child received facial burns and may have suffered
permanent vision damage.  He is improving and now always rides buckled up in
the back seat.