21 Percent of Grandparents Never Use Child Safety Seats
8 September 1999
New Independent Survey Sponsored By Nissan Reveals 21 Percent of Grandparents Never Use Child Safety Seats When Transporting Young Grandchildren
(September 12th is National Grandparent's Day)
GARDENA, Calif., Sept. 8 -- The second in a series of
independent nationwide polls on child passenger safety, commissioned by
automaker Nissan North America, Inc., reveals that 21 percent of grandparents
-- one out of five -- said they never use a child safety seat when their
grandchildren (eight years of age or younger) are passengers in their car.
Child safety awareness is more than just a parent issue: studies indicate
more than five million grandparents in the U.S. serve as primary child care
providers for working parents. In fact, 40 percent of grandparents polled
reported that their grandchildren rode in their vehicle an average of three or
more times per month. Child safety seats, properly installed, can reduce the
risk of fatalities in motor vehicle collisions by 69 percent for infants, and
47 percent for toddlers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA).
In a separate, but similar, child seat safety survey conducted last year
by Nissan among parents of young children, ages six and under, 12 percent of
parents said they never used a child safety seat. Both parents and
grandparents polled in the informal surveys shared worries or concerns about
the proper usage of child safety seats.
And they have good reason to worry -- an earlier study by NHTSA showed
that as many as 80 percent of child safety seats may not be properly installed
or used. SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A., the national non-profit organization
dedicated to child passenger safety, puts that number even higher, estimating
as many as 95 percent may be incorrectly used.
"Many advances have been made in the car seat safety arena since
grandparents, and even their grown children, were little," said Stephanie
Tombrello, executive director of SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. "That's why it's more
important than ever for grandparents to be properly informed on child seat
safety, in order to help safeguard today's children in the car."
For more than two years, Nissan has sponsored a major child seat safety
public service campaign in partnership with the authors of the best-selling
"What to Expect"(TM) parenting books. The campaign, called "Quest for
Safety," includes The What to Expect(TM) Guide to Car Seat Safety, a free
booklet available in English and Spanish, which offers simple, step-by-step
instructions. It answers many questions caregivers commonly ask, from when to
switch to a front-facing seat, to what to do if a child resists buckling up,
to how long a child should stay in a booster seat.
Since 1998, Nissan has distributed more than one million copies of The
What to Expect Guide to Car Seat Safety to parents and caregivers nationwide
through the Quest for Safety program.
More than half of the survey respondents (55 percent) said they borrowed a
child safety seat for their grandchildren to use in their own car. Nissan
cautions grandparents and all caregivers to read both the vehicle- and car
seat- owner's manuals to help make sure they know how to properly use and
install the child safety seat -- whether borrowed or new -- as instructions
may vary based on the car seat type and manufacturer. In addition,
grandparents should know the age and history of the borrowed seat. Child
safety seats can weaken over time, and if the seat has been in any type of
collision, major or minor, it could have structural damage that may not be
apparent. Some older child safety seat models may not be safe to use anymore.
Nissan recently launched a series of free child seat safety check-up
events conducted in major cities throughout the U.S., entitled the Quest for
Safety "Baby Buggy Tour." At the check-ups, specially trained child passenger
safety teams perform thorough examinations of each vehicle's child restraint
systems to ensure that the child safety seats are installed and used
correctly. Grandparents, parents and other caregivers are urged to look for
the "Baby Buggy Tour" or other free child seat safety check-up events in their
city, and to call Nissan's Quest for Safety Helpline at 1-800-955-4500 to
receive a free copy of The What to Expect Guide to Car Seat Safety. The
booklet can also be read online at http://www.nissan-na.com.
"Safety on the road and in the car is a key focus for Nissan, and we are
pleased to extend Quest for Safety's outreach to grandparents," said Jason
Vines, vice president of external affairs, Nissan North America, Inc. "As a
leader in child passenger safety, Nissan will continue to provide important
information on the proper use of child seats, to help ensure that our youngest
passengers are DRIVEN safely."
Nissan's Quest for Safety campaign benefits The What To Expect Foundation,
which exists to help every mother have the best odds of a healthy pregnancy
and every baby have the best odds of a healthy start in life. The
Foundation's first program will provide low-literacy pregnancy guides and
videos free of charge to disadvantaged mothers across the country. The
best-selling "What to Expect" pregnancy and parenting books including "What to
Expect When You're Expecting" and "What to Expect the First Year" and have
sold 16 million copies in the United States and are available in 23 languages
and in 27 countries around the world.
In North America, Nissan's operations include styling, engineering,
consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and
manufacturing. Nissan in North America, which includes employees and
facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, generates more than 90,000
jobs, approximately 20,000 directly and over 71,000 through approximately
1,500 Nissan and Infiniti retailers 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.nissandriven.com or contact the corporate media
line at 310-771-5631.