National Survey Finds Michigan Children at Risk

 Ford Motor Company, State Officials Jump-Start Booster Seat Use in Michigan
        Through Classroom Education and Donating 24,000 Booster Seats
                              To Needy Families

    LANSING, Mich., July 12 Michigan Lt. Governor Dick
Posthumus joined Ford Motor Company, State legislators, Michigan Association
of United Ways, and a host of national safety organizations today to call for
a new safety habit in Michigan -- booster seat use for children who have
outgrown traditional safety seats.  They made the first of 24,000 booster seat
donations to needy families in the State as part of Ford's national Boost
America! campaign.
    "Our children are Michigan's most precious resource, and this program will
help keep them safe as they travel our roads and highways," said Lt. Governor
Posthumus.  "I applaud Ford and its partner organizations for taking the
initiative to sponsor a campaign like this that will make a positive
difference in the lives of Michigan children and families."
    Jason Vines, Ford Motor Company Vice President for Communications, said,
"Boost America! campaign momentum nationally is exceeding even our most
optimistic predictions.  We are confident that Michigan will quickly join this
groundswell that is changing the way children ride in motor vehicles."
    Ford Motor Company is leading the $30 million national campaign to
encourage booster seat use because national research shows that there is a
huge safety void.  Children ages four through eight are at increased risk for
injury or death because typically they ride with adult belts that do not fit
them properly, or ride unprotected.  New safety research found that more than
eight in ten parents or caregivers have read or heard about booster seats.
But only about 19 percent in Michigan actually are putting their children in
booster seats.
    "Today, we begin to make 'booster seat' a household term in Michigan.
Ford Motor Company is proud to have the Lt. Governor and other Michigan
leaders joining us and our partners in this common sense effort that will make
our youngsters safer," Vines said.
    "Because we believe that just making seats available is not enough, we
also are running fitting stations in Lansing and Detroit this week so experts
from the International Center for Injury Prevention can demonstrate correct
booster seat usage to parents and caregivers and answer any questions," he
said.
    The Lansing clinic will be today, noon-7:00 p.m., at the Celebration
Theater, 202 E. Edgewood Blvd.  There will be two Detroit clinics -- Friday,
July 13, noon-6:00 p.m., and Saturday, July 14, 9:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., at the
State Fairgrounds, 1120 West State Fair Ave., Woodward parking lot.
    Among the campaign goals is to encourage states to modify existing child
passenger safety laws to require booster seat use by older children.  Such
legislation was introduced in Michigan by Rep. Patricia Lockwood, and co-
sponsored by Rep. Laura Toy.
    Rep. Lockwood said, "Child passenger safety is my number one priority, and
I'm thrilled to see Boost America! has come to our state with its important,
life-saving message.  Now is the time to pass legislation in Michigan to
ensure that all of our children ride with the best available protection."
    United Way agencies across the country are helping Ford Motor Company with
the logistical challenge of identifying and distributing free seats to the
neediest families.
    "As the leading community-solutions provider in the nation, United Way is
extremely proud and excited to join the Boost America! campaign with Ford
Motor Company," explained Christopher Nelson, president and CPO, Michigan
Association of United Ways.  "Most people think of their local United Way in
terms of providing the more traditional kinds of programs and services to
youth.  They don't typically think of child passenger safety as an issue we
address.  Participating in this initiative will allow us to enhance our
mission in the communities we serve while offering a valuable service to needy
families."
    In addition to the initial 24,000 donated seats in Michigan, Ford Motor
Company is providing booster seats to its customer through participating Ford,
Lincoln-Mercury, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mazda dealers in Michigan.
Customers will receive a voucher for a free or discounted booster seat at any
Toys "R" Us store.
    Toys "R" Us Michigan district manager Patrick Borden said, "We are pleased
to participate in this important campaign to promote child safety.  All of our
associates look forward to helping customers to make the right booster seat
selection when they come to any of our stores."
    Led by Ford Motor Company and launched nationally last April by a
veritable who's who of highway safety organizations that are working in close
partnership, Boost America! is the largest child safety effort ever by an
automobile manufacturer.  It includes a combination of communications and
other outreach efforts designed to shift public opinion in favor of additional
safety protection for young passengers.
    Vines explained that a total of one million booster seats are being
donated across the country.  Also, an innovative booster seat educational
curriculum has been sent to 152,000 elementary schools and day care centers
coast-to-coast.  Included for the elementary school children is an
entertaining video by actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.  Younger children
will receive information from "Blue" from Nickelodeon's Blues Clues.  Demand
for the curriculum is exceeding expectations, and it includes a take-home
component so parents can be involved in their child's safety learning
experience.
    The campaign has distributed more than 150,000 free booster seats
nationwide since its launch just over two months ago on April 30, 2001.  This
achievement marks a significant milestone for Boost America! as it moves
toward its goal of putting one million booster seats into use by next summer
to raise awareness of the importance of using belt-positioning booster seats
for children between the ages of four and eight.  Ford also announced that
feedback reports from teachers indicate that Ford's Boost America! school
curriculum will reach 35 million children this year.
    "Nothing of this scope has been attempted before," noted Vines. "We are
pleased by the overwhelming response because it signals that our goal is being
met -- children and parents alike are responding favorably to the message that
a booster seat is the 'cool' way for children to ride."
    According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Ford's lead Boost America! partner, while crash-related fatalities have
declined steadily for children under age four because most ride in traditional
safety seats, there has been no similar reduction in fatalities among children
four through eight years old.  NHTSA attributes this safety deficit at least
in part to the reality that booster seat use nationally is only 21 percent.
More than 500 children ages four through eight are killed every year in motor
vehicle crashes, including 10 in Michigan (1999 NHTSA statistics).
    The national survey of booster seat use was done by the polling firm
Wirthlin Worldwide.  In addition to documenting low booster seat usage in
Michigan and all states, it found that 72 percent of those surveyed in the
State are misinformed about the proper age for booster seat use.
    The survey was conducted from December 2000 through January 2001 in all
states and the District of Columbia.  The total survey sample included 11,701
interviews, 200 of which took place in Michigan, yielding results that can be
generalized to the universe of American parents/caregivers of young children
(within +/- 1.0 percentage point in 95 of 100 cases).
    Boost America! is trying to inculcate the message that a booster seat is a
necessary transition for children who have outgrown traditional child safety
seats, but are not big enough physiologically to use adult lap and shoulder
belts.  A booster seat is easy for parents to install and makes riding more
comfortable for a child.  As the name suggests, it boosts the child up so the
adult safety belts fit better -- snugly across the chest and low over the lap.
    More information about the campaign is available at
http://www.boostamerica.org or toll-free at 866-BOOST-KID.  For additional
information about the fitting clinics in Lansing and Detroit, call
517-272-9289.