Most isle kids
are strapped in
wrong

Car seat safety checks
are being conducted around the state
to help parents protect
their children

By Jim Witty
Star-Bulletin

When it comes to children's safety, ignorance is not bliss. But a new study shows that most kids in Hawaii regularly ride in cars without buckling up. And most of those who are strapped in are not secured properly.

Knowledge is the key to preventing needless tragedy, say the sponsors of the Safe Kids Buckle Up campaign, a nationwide effort to help parents protect their most precious cargo.

The Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition conducted the first in a series of car seat safety checks yesterday afternoon at Toys R Us in Pearlridge Center to spread the word about buckling up.

"We just got a car seat, and I wanted to make sure it was safe," said Sean Joslin, whose wife, Paula, is expecting a baby in early November. "I saw on the news that 70 percent are not installed properly. So I wanted to make sure."

Other than a few minor adjustments, Joslin had done a good job buckling his newly purchased infant car seat into the back seat of his sport utility vehicle, said Bob Wall, a member of the Fairfield County (Va.) police force and an expert on child car safety.

That's defying the odds.

Nationally, 90 percent of all car seats are improperly installed, Wall said.

"Last Thursday, we checked 110 seats in Virginia," he said. "None of them were installed properly."

According to a yearlong University of Hawaii study, 70 percent of children on Oahu and 55 percent on Kauai don't buckle up. Nationally, 40 percent travel without being buckled in.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional-injury deaths of children 14 and under, said Health Department spokesman Patrick Johnson. Nearly 1,400 children die and 280,000 are injured each year as automobile passengers.

But correctly installed, car seats reduce the risk of death by 69 percent for children under age 1 and by 47 percent for toddlers between 1 and 4, Johnston said.

Wall said common car seat mistakes include failing to install the base under the seat in a two-part unit, failing to cinch it in tight enough (the base shouldn't have more than 1 inch of play in it) and placing toddlers in seats designed for infants and vice versa.

Wall gave the Joslins a foam "noodle" to place below the seat's base and lift it to a 45-degree angle.

"Newborns need to recline at a 45-degree angle, or their head could flop forward and they could be asphyxiated," Wall explained.

"Now it makes sense," said Joslin. "I had no idea."

Additional car seat safety checks are scheduled from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Susannah Wesley Community Center and 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at Kapalama School.

Safety checks are also being scheduled for the neighbor islands through next month, Johnston said.

The Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition is part of the national Safe Kids campaign, chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.