Opening day for the Bear Babe Ruth League was predictably chaotic with hundreds of youngsters and their families arriving for the first day of the baseball season. On the drive in, families may have noticed individuals with clipboards standing near the entrance. They were watching to see if everyone was wearing a seat belt.
The observational survey, which is part of a project now in its second year at the field, showed that while seat belt use for drivers and their children was in the 80 percent range – more than a quarter of the children who should have been in the back seat according to Delaware law were riding illegally in the front seat, potentially putting these children at risk for serious injury in the event of a crash.
The “Be An All Star: Buckle Up” seat belt project is an effort by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety to increase seat belt use among older children ages 8 to 13, often referred to as “tweens.” This age group buckles up less frequently than most other age groups including the often talked about 16-year-old new teen drivers.
In Delaware, a review of crash data between 2000 and 2005 shows that seat belt use for 8- to 13-year-olds injured in crashes averaged out to 73 percent and was the lowest of any age group.
OHS is working primarily with coaches of sports teams to reach both the young players and their parents who spend many hours in the car driving back and forth from practice.
Andrea Summers, OHS community relations officer, said the project concentrates on sporting venues because older kids there are a captive audience and look up to their coaches as positive role models.
“Who better to help influence and motivate safe behavior both on and off the field?”
The observational seat belt surveys conducted on opening day will be repeated at the end of the season. The first survey revealed that 89 percent of drivers were wearing seat belts as were 83 percent of the children. However, 32 percent of the “tweens” were riding inappropriately in the front seat.
Project Coordinator Cindy Genau said it was a great opportunity to educate parents on what the law is in regard to seat belt use because many of them just don’t know,
“It also allows us to explain where their kids should sit in the vehicle and why,” she said. “There’s a science behind it.”
The law
Delaware law requires all children younger than 12 or 5-foot, 5-inches tall – whichever comes first, to ride in the back seat of a vehicle when air bags are present. Everyone from age 8 and older must be properly restrained by a seat belt under Delaware law.
Children younger than 12 are safest in the back seat because most motor vehicle crashes are front end crashes. Placing children in the back seat not only gets them away from the most frequent point of impact, it also eliminates the chance that they could be injured by deploying air bags.
To keep children safe, parents should also remember to be a good role model and buckle up every trip themselves. National studies show that children are buckled up more often when their parents are.
For more information on child passenger safety laws in Delaware, go to www.ohs.delaware.gov and click on Child Passengers on the left side of the page.
For updates on highway safety activities and information, follow OHS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe.
Statewide, Del. —
