AAA Minnesota/Iowa & Safe Kids Minnesota Support Enhanced Child Restraint Legislation "The Brynn Duncan Law"

Op-Ed by:
Randy Williams, president of AAA Minnesota/Iowa
Erin Petersen, coordinator of Safe Kids Minnesota

BURNSVILLE, Minn.--(Business Wire)--
Minnesota's legislature soon will have the opportunity to follow the example of
43 other states and strengthen our state's child restraint law. We hope the
legislature will capitalize on this opportunity because traffic crashes are the
leading cause of death for children over the age of one in Minnesota. In
addition, 624 Minnesota children suffered crash-related injuries requiring
medical attention in 2006.

This past summer, seven-year-old Brynn Duncan from Moorhead became the
definitive illustration of a child who would have benefited from a stronger
child restraint law in Minnesota. On Aug. 18, 2008, Brynn was restrained with
only a seat belt, since that's all the law requires, while riding with her
grandmother. Because the adult seat belt did not fit properly, the lap portion
rode up above her hips and onto her stomach. Brynn had placed the shoulder
portion of the adult seat belt behind her back as children of this age and size
often do to prevent it from resting on their faces.

When the vehicle she was riding in was involved in a crash, the impact snapped
Brynn's body in half. Because the top portion of the seat belt was not in place,
her spinal cord was badly injured. Because the lap portion of the seat belt was
not on her hips, her internal organs were catastrophically damaged.

The initial damage to Brynn's body was a torn spinal cord, a severed intestine,
a bruised heart and a damaged kidney. While in surgery, Brynn's kidney, appendix
and gall bladder were removed. In addition, Brynn suffered immense pain,
depression, severe fevers and infections. Weeks went by as her survival lay in
the balance. For 82 days, Brynn went from one hospital to the next, one surgery
to the next, fighting to survive. Eventually, Brynn was sent home with
substantial, life-long injuries.

Minnesota's current child restraint law states children ages four and older can
be restrained in a seat belt. By following the law, Brynn's grandmother thought
she was doing what was safest. Consistent with her assumption, a recent AAA
study found that the majority of parents rely on their state's legislation to
guide them on how to restrain their child in a vehicle.

However, seat belt use at age four is not the best practice. Research conducted
by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia indicates that appropriate child
restraints (that is, booster seats) reduce the injury rate in car crashes by 59
percent over adult seat belts used alone.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa and Safe Kids Minnesota are calling for improved child
passenger safety legislation to provide children ages four to eight with the
proper protection. For most children in this age range, this means making use of
a small and portable backless booster seat ranging in price from $13-$20. The
function of a booster seat is simply to raise the child up enough so the lap
belt rides low on the hips and the shoulder portion crosses the shoulder - where
it should.

Brynn's parents do not want other young children to endure what Brynn had to
experience. Our Minnesota kids deserve an improved child passenger safety law
with the protections offered by 43 other states, not a law that was crafted 26
years ago before booster seats were developed. Had Brynn been in a booster seat
with the adult seat belt in its proper place on her bodythis excruciating ordeal
could have been prevented.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa
Gail Weinholzer, 952-707-4985
or
Shannon Swanson, 952-707-4623

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