Ford CEO Nasser, DOT Secretary Mineta, Will
Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Nickelodeon's 'Blues Clues,'
and Safety Groups Join Forces To Increase Booster Seat
Usage
Survey Finds Millions of Children at Risk--One Million Free Seats to be
Distributed--Education Program Goes to Every Elementary and Pre-school in
Country--Push for New State Booster Seat Laws
(VNR feed; see notes at end of release)
WASHINGTON, April 30 Citing a new 50-state survey that
found that the majority of all parents and caregivers are not taking the
proper action to protect four-to-eight-year old children in motor vehicles,
Ford Motor Company today launched the largest child passenger safety program
in automotive history -- a $30 million commitment this year -- to shift
attitudes and behavior in favor of better protection for child passengers
through increased booster seat use.
The multi-faceted campaign includes a massive educational component
featuring a video by superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, an
endorsement from Nickelodeon's "Blues Clues," distribution of one million
booster seats through United Way agencies and Ford Motor Company dealers
through Toys "R" Us, educational events in all 50 states over the next 12
months, and a push for new state booster seat laws. In addition to the
celebrities, federal and state governments and numerous safety groups are
joining Ford Motor Company to increase the use of booster seats among four-to-
eight year olds.
At the national kick-off event at Anthony Bowen Elementary School in
Washington, DC, Ford Motor Company President and CEO Jacques Nasser said, "As
many as three out of four parents probably are using the wrong safety device
for older children, including placing them in adult safety belts that do not
protect them properly. That's an alarming number. We are committed to doing
everything we can to encourage the safety of all our passengers." The Boost
America! program was initiated to help parents and caregivers of children
between the ages of four and eight understand the importance of using belt-
positioning booster seats and to increase the use of these seats nationwide.
Joined by supporters representing federal and state governments, the
nation's leading highway safety and child welfare organizations, and hundreds
of youngsters of booster seat age, Nasser said, "Today we shift our coast-to-
coast Boost America! campaign into overdrive. Our goal is to make sure that
every child weighing 40-80 pounds rides in a booster seat so they will have
the best protection available should a crash occur."
The research, the most extensive survey of booster seats ever conducted,
found that most parents and caregivers (96%) are conscientious about ensuring
that children ride safely, reporting that their children ride with a safety
belt or safety seat "of some type." But the survey also found that up to 79
percent are misinformed about the correct safety device to use for children of
different ages. While 88 percent of parents and caregivers say they have
heard or read about booster seats, only 21 percent are using them for their
children. Wirthlin Worldwide conducted the 50-state survey in December 2000-
January 2001. Nearly 12,000 parents and caregivers were interviewed.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said, "We are pleased to
partner with Ford in Boost America!, and to work with the many other
organizations joining the effort to make booster seat use the standard rather
than the exception. Children are our most important responsibility, and no
child should be injured or killed because a parent or caregiver did not get
the message about the need for booster seats."
Superstar singer and actor Will Smith, of "Men in Black" and "Independence
Day" fame, together with his wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith, are helping
the campaign. They taped an educational video to convince elementary school
children to ride in booster seats. The animated character, "Blue," of
Nickelodeon's hit television show, Blue's Clues, will take the message to pre-
school children.
"As parents ourselves, we want to lend our support and talk with kids and
parents all across the country about how booster seats are the cool way to
stay safe in the family car or truck," Jada Pinkett Smith said. The Smiths
have three young children.
Nationally-known booster seat advocate Autumn Alexander Skeen of Walla
Walla, Washington, lost her son, Anton, because he was using an adult safety
belt instead of a booster seat. "It has been said that 'if only' are the two
saddest words a human can say. No truer words are these as far as my life is
concerned. If only I hadn't overcorrected that vehicle that day. If only
Anton would've been in a booster seat. It's bad enough to lose your child to
death when there was nothing you could do. But believe me, it is a bottomless
anguish when help was out there, and you didn't have it."
The safety rationale for booster seats is that a child who has outgrown
the age and weight recommendations for traditional child safety seats (infant
and toddler models) needs a transition until big enough physiologically to use
adult lap/shoulder belts. Booster seats raise the child up in the seat so
adult safety belts fit them better and more comfortably -- low across the hips
and snugly across the chest. Parents report an added benefit: the child can
see out of the window better.
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and injury to our children.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that more than 500 children age
four to eight are killed every year in motor vehicle crashes.
Boost America! will put one million booster seats into use over the next
12 months and hold campaign events in all 50 states. An unusual combination
of educational and communications components, and the collective efforts of
the campaign's many partner organizations, will work to convince youngsters,
and their parents or caregivers, that booster seats are not just a safety
necessity, but the "cool" way to ride.
"We want to jumpstart the market for booster seats by providing a total of
one million free seats to Ford customers and families in need. In particular,
we want to be sure that those families who cannot afford to purchase this
life-saving device will still have the opportunity to get one," Nasser said.
Five hundred thousand seats will go to the neediest families through United
Way agencies around the country. The remainder will go to Ford Motor Company
customers who will receive a voucher from participating Ford, Lincoln,
Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda dealers that can be redeemed for
a booster seat at a Toys "R" Us store. Vouchers will be arriving at Ford
dealerships this week.
Elinor Johnstone Ferdon, Chair-elect of the United Way of America Board of
Governors said, "As one of the nation's leading community solutions providers,
United Way is always looking to help people. Through partnerships with
generous corporations like Ford Motor Company, United Way is better able to
reach people with the services they need."
Toys "R" Us CEO John Eyler said, "We are incredibly pleased to participate
in this important campaign to promote booster seat safety. Our mission at
Toys "R" Us is to improve the lives of children everywhere, and this
initiative will go a long way in doing just that."
Nasser said that children will be taught safety in the classroom through a
massive education program. A professionally developed Boost America!
educational curriculum already has been sent to 152,000 elementary schools and
pre-schools. The Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith video is included in the
elementary school version of the curriculum, and "Blue" appears in the pre-
school materials. Also included is a lesson plan and other materials to help
teachers explain auto safety to children in an entertaining, age-appropriate
way, and a take-home component so parents or other caregivers can be involved
in their child's learning experience.
Ford Motor Company today also announced that it would push for new state
booster seat laws similar to those for infant seats. "While education has gone
a long way to increase child seat use, we know from discussions with our
government and safety partners that state laws are an important element," said
Nasser. "Ford Motor Company will work with state governments to implement
sensible booster seat legislation. Currently, only three states -- Washington,
California, and Arkansas -- have booster seat laws.
The Wirthlin data are broken down by states (attached), so local officials
can benchmark their efforts and track progress. Other key findings:
* Nationally, 88 percent have heard or read about booster seats, but
reported usage was only 21 percent. "Too big" is the leading reason
cited by parents for not using a booster seat.
* Nearly three-quarters (71%) mistakenly believe it is safe to place
children under age eight in a vehicle with just a regular safety belt.
Four percent don't know when it is safe.
* Women are somewhat more likely than men to be aware of booster seats and
have their children ride in them.
* Among ethnic minorities, African-Americans are somewhat more likely to
have heard about booster seats. But the children of all ethnic
minorities are less likely to be riding in a booster seat.
* Higher levels of income and education correlate with greater booster
seat awareness and usage.
* The best reports of booster seat usage by their children come from
younger women (18-34 years) and wealthier women ($80,000 or more).
The Evenflo Rightfit and Graco-Century Breverra Contour Sport models were
selected for the campaign because they offer child passengers a good
combination of comfort and belt fit. The Breverra Contour Sport is not
available in stores -- it was developed specifically for the United Way low-
income portion of the Boost America! campaign.
Both models position the vehicle's lap/shoulder belts to improve belt fit-
low across the hips and thighs, and across the chest and shoulder. The
Rightfit is a backless booster designed to be used in vehicles with a taller
rear seat back that comes above the child's ears. The Breverra Contour Sport
model has an integral high back to provide head protection in vehicles with
shorter rear seat backs, or without head restraints.
In addition to distributing booster seats, Ford Motor Company is building
relationships with states to run fitting clinics, and to certify additional
child passenger safety seat technicians to provide instruction on how to
install and use all child safety seats.
Key to Ford Motor Company's effort will be its partnerships with respected
and influential national organizations that will help with the campaign. In
addition to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these
organizations also are part of the campaign: AAA; American Academy of
Pediatrics; American Trauma Society; Emergency Nurses CARE; Evenflo; Graco-
Century; Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child
Health Bureau; Hertz Corporation; Indian Health Service; International
Association of Chiefs of Police; International Center for Injury Prevention;
National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives; National
Association of Police Organizations; National Association of School Nurses;
National Association of School Resource Officers; National Fire Protection
Association; National Urban League; Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues; The Society of
Automotive Engineers; State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors
Association; Toys "R" Us; and United Way of America.
Additional information on Boost America! is available at the campaign's
website: http://www.boostamerica.org . Private schools, day care providers,
civic groups and others that would like to obtain elements of the Boost
America! educational package can download it from this site.
Notes:
* A video news release (VNR) with same-day coverage of the event and the
entire B-roll package will be available via satellite from 3:00-3:30 PM
ET on Galaxy 3R (c-band), transponder 2, 6.2 & 6.8 audio, downlink
frequency 3740(v). Broadcast quality copies of the VNR/B-Roll are also
available by contacting Don Shipley at 202-289-2001.
* Photos/graphics are available from
http://www.boostamerica.org/graphics.htm and media.ford.com
Boost America!
50 State Study
conducted by
Wirthlin Worldwide
This study was conducted to better understand booster seat awareness
and usage for children between the ages of 4 to 8 years old.
State Heard or Read of** Unaware of Proper** Booster Seat***
Booster Seats Booster Seat Ages Usage
ALABAMA 92% 76% 21%
ALASKA 86% 79% 12%
ARIZONA 85% 71% 19%
ARKANSAS 86% 79% 28%
CALIFORNIA * 87% 77% 17%
COLORADO 85% 74% 29%
CONNECTICUT 90% 61% 29%
DELAWARE 88% 73% 29%
D. C. 87% 63% 18%
FLORIDA* 84% 78% 19%
GEORGIA* 88% 74% 24%
HAWAII 82% 66% 17%
IDAHO 87% 73% 18%
ILLINOIS* 85% 73% 22%
INDIANA* 86% 78% 17%
IOWA 85% 79% 18%
KANSAS 91% 68% 21%
KENTUCKY 91% 73% 15%
LOUISIANA 83% 78% 20%
MAINE 87% 68% 25%
MARYLAND 89% 66% 30%
MASSACHUSETTS* 92% 60% 23%
MICHIGAN 85% 72% 19%
MINNESOTA* 92% 67% 30%
MISSISSIPPI 88% 78% 21%
MISSOURI* 86% 78% 18%
MONTANA 90% 70% 18%
NEBRASKA 85% 75% 21%
NEVADA 83% 84% 20%
NEW HAMPSHIRE 92% 57% 26%
NEW JERSEY* 89% 65% 23%
NEW MEXICO 90% 73% 20%
NEW YORK* 91% 66% 18%
NORTH CAROLINA* 88% 71% 27%
NORTH DAKOTA 89% 69% 20%
OHIO* 84% 76% 17%
OKLAHOMA 90% 75% 19%
OREGON 86% 74% 18%
PENNSYLVANIA* 90% 65% 21%
RHODE ISLAND 91% 63% 21%
SOUTH CAROLINA 84% 69% 19%
SOUTH DAKOTA 89% 71% 15%
TENNESSEE 85% 80% 22%
TEXAS* 85% 73% 17%
UTAH 84% 74% 21%
VERMONT 92% 60% 24%
VIRGINIA* 89% 74% 24%
WASHINGTON 93% 63% 27%
WEST VIRGINIA 86% 75% 17%
WISCONSIN 87% 82% 23%
WYOMING 90% 71% 22%
NATIONAL AVERAGE 88% 71% 21%
The total sample of the survey included 11,701 interviews yielding results
that can be generalized to the entire universe of American parents of young
children within +/-1.0 percentage points in 95 out of 100 cases. There were
300 interviews completed in each of the fifteen most populated states, and 200
interviews in each of the remaining 35 states and the District of Columbia.
In several portions of the report results are based on parents or caregivers
of children between 4-8 years old. This sample size is 7,720 interviews and
has a sample error of +/- 1.17. This survey should be used to compare states
against the national average only.
*300 Interviews completed in this state.
**Asked of parents and caregivers with children 12 years of age and
younger.
***Asked of parents and caregivers with children between 4 and 8 years of
age.
CONTACT: Cathy Gillen, 202-289-2001, for Boost America!; or after Monday,
Sara Tatchio of Ford Motor Company, 313-322-7998.
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