Nissan and SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A Team Up
24 June 1998
Nissan and SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A Team Up to Offer Free Child Seat Safety Check-Ups at Local Target Store to Prepare Parents for Summer Driving Season
Local Law Enforcement, Public Officials Invited to Join the Quest for Safety
SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 24 -- In an ongoing effort to
educate the public on automotive safety, the Northwest Region of Nissan Motor
Corporation U.S.A. and its Sacramento-area dealers are sponsoring "Enjoy the
Ride Safely," a child seat safety awareness campaign, on Saturday, June 27,
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the local Target store, 1919 Fulton Avenue.
With numerous belt systems and child restraints on the market, information
about using them properly continues to be important. Vehicle collisions are
the number one cause of injury and death to kids in our country. According to
figures compiled by the California Highway Patrol, of the 558 deaths of
children under age 4 as motor vehicle passengers in California from 1987 to
1996, 85 percent of these children would have survived if an adult had buckled
up these young children correctly. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) says that too many child restraints are misused.
"Because Nissan is committed to the family and especially youth, we wanted
to bring a hands-on safety campaign to the public that will give them peace of
mind that their children are safely buckled up," said Olga Reisler, regional
vice president of Nissan's Northwest Region. "We continue to be concerned
about the alarming statistics involving children that are occurring right here
in our home state of California."
The Enjoy the Ride Safely campaign features specially trained child seat
safety teams who will perform thorough examinations of each car's child
restraint systems at the check-up site. Items checked will include how the
seat is installed, whether the restraint is appropriate for the age and size
of the child and whether locking clips are necessary.
These safety teams - consisting of local Nissan dealership personnel,
local law enforcement officers, educators, child health professionals and
public officials - received safety seat training from SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A, a
national not-for-profit organization geared toward enhancing public safety
through education and training.
All event attendees will receive a free comprehensive 20-minute public
service video featuring the latest in child restraint safety. Available in
both English and Spanish, the video, "Enjoy the Ride Safely: Child Restraint
Guidelines," was produced by Nissan to show how to properly use child
restraints. Featuring an introduction by Heidi Murkoff, co-author of the
best-selling books, What to Expect the First Year and What to Expect the
Toddler Years (Workman Publishing), the video demonstrates the different types
of restraints, explains how to choose the proper restraint for your child and
illustrates how to place and install restraints safely. In addition, the
video provides useful safety guidelines for adult drivers and passengers.
Nissan and the authors advise parents to take the following key measures
when using child restraints in order to safely transport children in the car:
General Safety Rules
* Always buckle up. Whether you're driving across the country or around
the block, everyone who rides in your car should be securely buckled.
* Never place a rear-facing child restraint in the front seat of a vehicle
equipped with a passenger-side air bag. The air bag can kill or seriously
injure the infant.
* If possible, never put your child in the front seat. The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that children age 12 and
under should always be properly restrained in the back seat.
* It is never safe to ride with the infant or child in your lap. Children
are not properly protected unless securely placed in an appropriate-sized
child restraint.
* Pregnant woman should push the seat as far back as comfortably possible
and tilt the steering wheel up. They should always wear lap shoulder belts
with the lap belt placed as low as possible on the hips, not around the waist.
Child Restraint Types
The type of restraint used must be appropriate for the specific child,
depending on age and size. There are three main types of child restraints:
1. Rear-Facing Seat - for infants typically up to 1 year old, and up to
about 20 pounds
2. Front-Facing Seat - for toddlers ranging from 20+ pounds
3. Booster Seat - for larger children, who are too small to use the
vehicle's seat belts alone, but have outgrown the front-facing seat.
In addition, a variety of convertible restraints, which change from rear-
facing to front-facing to booster seats, are available on the market.
Many state laws only require children to be restrained in child restraints
until they are 4 years old or 40 pounds. Nissan believes the responsibility
as a parent shouldn't end there. Nissan recommends that children should be
kept in approved child restraints as long as a child can still fit comfortably
into the restraint, regardless of their age.
The Right Choice
Choosing the right type of restraint for your child is crucial. Not only
should the choice depend on the age and size of the child, but the child
restraint also needs to be compatible with your car and its seat belts.
Be sure to read the labels and literature accompanying the child
restraint. Experts recommend the use of child restraints that conform to
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213. As an additional precaution,
parents are advised to choose child restraints that meet guiddelines of SAE
Practice J1819.
Installing the Child Restraint
When installing the child restraint, parents need to closely follow the
instructions provided, as well as the information contained in the vehicle's
owner manual. The different procedures are demonstrated and explained in
detail in the video. At all times, parents need to ensure that the restraint
is securely fastened with the vehicle seat belt.
What to Expect the First Year and What to Expect the Toddler Years provide
the answers to all the questions parents ask during the first years of
parenthood, giving advice on hundreds of topics, from feeding and development
to health and safety. Along with What to Expect When You're Expecting and
What to Eat When You're Expecting, the books make up the best-selling
pregnancy and early childhood series that has sold 13 million copies in the
United States and is currently available in 30 languages around the world.
In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering,
manufacturing, sales, consumer and corporate financing, and industrial and
textile equipment. Nissan in North America employs more than 20,000 people in
the United States, Canada and Mexico, and generates more than 70,000 jobs
through more than 1,500 Nissan and Infiniti dealerships across the continent.
More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan
and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at http://www.nissan-na.com.