30 Years Later: New Survey Finds Parents Support Child Safety Seat Laws, But AAA...

30 Years Later: New Survey Finds Parents Support Child Safety Seat Laws, But AAA Says Many Laws Are Inadequate

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--Thirty years after the enactment of the nation's first child
safety seat law, a new survey shows parents strongly support child
safety seats and child seat laws. Yet nearly 100 children under age 5
die every year in crashes they could have survived if they had been
using child safety seats, said AAA in calling for states to close gaps
in their child passenger safety laws.

According to a survey released by AAA to coincide with the 30th
anniversary of Tennessee's first-in-the-nation child safety seat law,
more than half of all parents (54 percent) look to their state law for
guidance on how to restrain their children. While a strong majority
(93 percent) of parents surveyed said they are aware of their state's
child restraint laws and most (86 percent) feel that these laws should
be consistent across the country, less than half (39 percent) can
accurately identify the age at which their state allows a child to
ride in an automobile with only a lap and shoulder belt.

"These results send a clear and powerful message to state
legislators across the country," said Robert L. Darbelnet, president
and CEO of AAA. "Parents look to the law to provide guidance about
when and how their children should be restrained but, in many cases,
the laws are letting them down. State laws vary greatly throughout the
U.S. and, although every state has a provision for children under age
four, just 18 states and the District of Columbia require children up
to the age of 8 or older to be restrained in a booster seat.

"Stronger laws and better education will save additional young
lives. State legislators can make this happen," continued Darbelnet.

AAA released the survey data in conjunction with the 30th
anniversary of the first state child passenger safety seat law, which
took effect in Tennessee in January 1978. Three decades later, marked
progress in child passenger restraint legislation, improvements in car
seat technology and the dedicated work of safety advocates are saving
the lives of thousands of children each year in the U.S., including an
estimated 392 children younger than 5 in 2006. AAA today joined
national and local child safety advocates in commemorating 30 years of
child passenger safety successes.

"As child seat technology and legislation have evolved over the
last three decades, so, too, have parental attitudes toward child
passenger safety," said Darbelnet. "Today, many parents make it a
priority to properly restrain their children when driving because of
the proven life-saving benefits of car seats." Yet despite this
positive shift in attitudes, more than one-third (35 percent) of
children under five who were killed in fatal crashes in 2006 were
unrestrained. In total, 145 of the 452 children under age 5 who died
in crashes were unrestrained.

Thirty years ago, pioneering legislation in Tennessee sparked a
movement across our country to protect our most vulnerable passenger
population -- young children. In the decade after Tennessee enacted
its law, all 50 states passed some form of child passenger safety law.

"Most state laws today still fall short of what we know are the
best practices, especially for 4-to-8-year-old children who should be
riding in booster seats," said Deborah A.P. Hersman, Member, National
Transportation Safety Board.

When examining how parents learn about their state laws, the
survey found that only 31 percent of parents said they learned about
them from physicians, while 40 percent cited the government as their
source of information. Most parents (80 percent) who responded felt
that pediatricians and other physicians should educate parents about
child restraint laws and the government (73 percent) should also take
a more active role in educating parents.

"AAA honors the efforts of all of those who worked tirelessly to
improve child passenger safety standards and increase the use of child
safety seats over the last three decades. The traffic safety
community, however, must continue to push for stronger, consistent
legislation in all states and remain committed to educating the public
on the importance of child passenger safety," concluded Darbelnet.

AAA clubs continue to work to enact comprehensive child passenger
safety laws protecting children up to the age of 8 in every state. For
more information on state child passenger restraint laws, visit
www.aaa.com/publicaffairs.

Research for AAA's child safety restraint survey is based on a
national Internet survey of 1,000 parents with children younger than
age 8.

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel
organization, AAA provides nearly 51 million members with travel,
insurance, financial and automotive-related services and member-only
savings. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully
tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and
security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at
www.AAA.com.

To find your local AAA media contact or see other AAA news
releases, log on to www.AAA.com/news.

AAA, Washington
Mike Pina, 202-942-2079
MPina@national.AAA.com
or
Troy Green, 202-942-2082
TGreen@national.AAA.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008