Learning That Child Safety Seats Are Not Always Safe

By Andrew Gorosko

Several dozen local parents learned November 8 about the intricacies of child safety seats, which are designed to prevent serious injuries to children in automobile accidents.

The Fairfield County Safe Kids Coalition held a four-hour child safety seat clinic in the parking lot of Newtown Car Wash on Simm Lane, off South Main Street.

The coalition brought together police officers from several law enforcement agencies who are trained in the selection, installation, and use of child safety seats. Besides the three Newtown police officers who participated, the event included officers from the state police, and from the Monroe, Brookfield, Ridgefield, and Danbury municipal police departments. About 12 officers took part.

The car wash parking area looked like an auto dealer’s lot specializing in minivans, the utility vehicles that have been especially popular with families since the mid-1980s. Newtown Car Wash manager Robert Boyhen said sponsoring the clinic provided the business with a way to enhance child safety.

Robert Cordes, the director of the Fairfield County Safe Kids Coalition, explained that the organization has trained many police officers who serve as child safety seat experts in their respective communities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Automobile Association sanction the safety training program. The coalition is pressing for better standards in the child safety seat industry.

In Newtown, the child safety seat experts are Sergeant George Sinko, Sergeant Doug Wisentaner, and Patrol Officer William Hull. They can be reached at the police station at 426-5841.

The coalition clinic conducted on November 8 was the first one held in Newtown. The coalition expects to return for a second clinic next spring. The complexities posed by the proper use of child safety seats requires that such events be held, Mr Cordes said.

Though they may appear to be simple devices, the proper use of child safety seats is a complex matter. At the November 8 session, police inspected 60 child safety seats, and found errors in the use of all seats, Sgt Sinko said. Eleven seats, which were found to be outdated or defective, were taken out of service and replaced with new ones.

Complexity

It is estimated that child safety seats are used incorrectly 80 to 85 percent of the time. The complexity in using such child safety seats stems from the multiple variables that come into play, including the design of the specific child seat, the type of seat belts in the motor vehicle, the type of vehicle, the design of the vehicle’s passenger seats, the age of the children using the safety seats, and the children’s weight. There are different types of safety seats available for children, based on their age and weight.

Seats designed for use by infants face backwards. They should be positioned in the center of the rear seat of the vehicle, or in the center of the second row of seats, if the vehicle has three rows of seats.  Such seats are designed for children who weigh up to 20 pounds.

Another type of child safety seat is known as a “convertible” seat. It can be converted from a rear-facing infant seat to a forward-facing seat for older, heavier children.

Another type of seat is “nonconvertible,” is designed only for children older than infants. “Booster” seats are available for older children.

In Connecticut, children are required to sit in the appropriate child safety devices until they turn age 4. In some cases, it may be advisable for children older than age 4 to use such safety devices.

The complexities of child safety seats are compounded by various motor vehicles, which have three different types of seat belts: automatic locking retractors, emergency locking retractors, and switchable retractors. Also, the instruction manuals that are provided with child safety seats are not the clearest written documents.

The US government recommends that children ride in the back seat of vehicles until age 13 to reduce injuries in collisions.