Kansas Department of Health and Environment: Safe Kids Kansas Child Passenger

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Motor Vehicle Crashes are the number one cause of accidental injury-related death for children ages 0-14 in Kansas. Proper use of restraints greatly increases the chance of survival while decreasing the potential for injury. Unfortunately, in 2003, 61% of the Kansas children killed were not using safety belts or child safety seats. Observational surveys conducted in 2006 indicate that 17% of Kansas children ages 0-4 are not protected by a car seat, 47% of Kansas kids ages 5-9 are not protected by a booster seat or seat belt. 52% of Kansas kids ages 10-14 are not protected by a seat belt

The BUCKLE UP program is designed to increase the number of Kansas children properly protected by a child safety seat, booster seat or seat belt.

The BUCKLE UP program has been credited with 29 documented lives saved in the past nine years. The program is the recipient of the Excellence in Accountability Award from the Safe Kids Worldwide and General Motors.

Find a Child Safety Seat Inspection Station near you.

Car Seat www.seatcheck.org

Child Seat Distribution

Child Seat Misuse

Mobile Child Safety Seat Check Up Vans

Volunteer Training

Advocate Training

Moving Kids Safely in Child Care

Certified Child Passenger Safety
Technicians

Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor

Special Needs Child Passenger Safety

Airbags

Child Passenger Safety Laws in Kansas

Booster Seat Facts

Adult seat belt use

Child Seat Distribution
Safe Kids Kansas works with community groups to distribute child seats and booster seats. Over 25,000 child safety seats and booster seats have been distributed by the Coalition to low income families. The Coalition also works with local communities to develop distribution programs.

Child Passenger Safety Resources are available statewide. Find a Child Safety Seat Inspection Station near you
Find the nearest distribution program by contacting Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office at 1-800-416-2522 or Safe Kids Kansas Coalition at 1-800-332-6262.

Child Seat Misuse
Misuse of child safety seats is widespread. Studies have found that as many as four out of five car seats are installed or used incorrectly. Read both your child safety seat instruction manual and your motor vehicle owner’s manual for direction on proper installation and placement of your seat. Call 1-800-745-SAFE (English) or 1-800-747-SANO (Spanish) for questions on installation. Check to see if your seat has been recalled, or for additional correct usage guidelines, go to www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Or contact Safe Kids Kansas for a guide to basic car seat safety.

Child Safety Seat Check Up Events/Fitting Stations – Four out of five car seats are used incorrectly. When a child safety seat is not used correctly, its effectiveness decreases, which increases the chances for injuries or even death in a crash. Safe Kids Kansas, in partnership with Chevrolet, community groups, and local coalitions and chapters, facilitates child safety seat check up events. At these events, trained technicians provide education and assistance to parents and caregivers on the proper installation and use of child safety seats. Events are open to the public. In addition to scheduled events, Kansas now boasts over 150 permanent inspection stations for child seat checks. To find the nearest inspection stations, visit the KDOT Bureau of Traffic Safety web site.

Mobile Child Safety Seat Check Up Vans
The Coalition also operates two Mobile Child Safety Seat Check Up Vans to facilitate child safety seat checks in local communities. One van is stationed in Lawrence and one in Wichita to better serve the state. In the last six years, 32,264 seats have been checked at 1,361 van and community check up events.

Safe Kids Mobile Car Seat Check Up Van

Volunteer Training
Many opportunities are available to receive training in the area of child passenger safety. If you would like to receive training in child passenger safety, contact Cherie Sage for more information.

Advocate Training
8-hour introduction to child passenger safety and the many issues that need to be addressed.

Moving Kids Safely in Child Care
12-hour training designed for child care providers. This curriculum was implemented in 2003.

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians
Intensive 4-day (32 hour) hands-on training on child passenger safety seat installation. National certification requires ongoing continuing education and continued seat installation practice at events. In Kansas, 614 child passenger safety technicians are currently trained and certified.

Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructors
Additional training and certification is required for instructors. 29 child passenger safety technician instructors are currently certified in our state.

Special Needs Child Passenger Safety
This course is for current CPS technicians who work in the medical field, law enforcement, or who are first responders.

Airbags
The back seat is the safest place for a child to ride. It is estimated that children ages 12 and under are 36% less likely to die in a crash if they ride seated in the rear seat of a passenger vehicle.

Children ages 12 and under should ride buckled up in a back seat.
Never put an infant in front of an air bag. The back of a rear-facing infant or convertible seat rests too close to the air bag. Due to the considerable force with which an air bag deploys (up to 200mph), the impact with the air bag can cause serious or fatal injuries to the infant.
For air bags to work effectively, everyone needs to be properly secured by a safety belt.
Click here for more air bag safety tips. (www.nsc.org/partners/pubedu.aspx)

Booster Child Passenger Safety Act (KSA 8-1344) is a primary law:

Requirements:

All children under age four must be in a federally-approved child safety seat.
Children four years of age, but under the age of eight years must be in a federally-approved child safety seat/booster seat UNLESS the child weighs more than 80 pounds OR is taller than 4'9'' in height.
Children eight years of age but under the age of 14 must be protected by a safety belt.

Applies to:

All drivers transporting children.
All vehicles designed for carrying 10 passengers or less.
Kansas residents and non-residents alike.
All seating positions in vehicle.
Pickup trucks registered for 12,000 pounds.
Farm trucks registered for 16,000 pounds.

Other Provisions:

Drivers may be stopped solely for a violation of the law.
Only drivers may be cited for violations.
There is no violation if the children (ages 4 but under 14 years old) being transported exceeds the number of securing locations and all securing locations are in use by children.
Only a single violation exists even when more than one child in a vehicle is not properly restrained.
Convictions are not considered moving violations.
$10 of the fine and court costs may be waived if safety restraining system is obtained.
Persons under the age of 14 are prohibited from riding in any portion of the vehicle not intended for passengers; this includes riding in the back of pickup trucks.
The Kansas Safety Belt Use Act (KSA 8-2503) is a secondary law.

Booster Seat Facts:

A belt-positioning booster seat raises the child up so that the seat belt, which is designed for an adult body, fits the child’s body. Since children in booster seats use the adult seat belt, no installation of the seat is required. A belt-positioning booster seat can not only make a child safer, but also make the safety belt fit better and feel better to the child.
Children aged 2 to 5 years who are restrained in an adult seat belt are 3.5 times more likely to suffer a significant injury than properly restrained children.
Booster seats that meet federal Safety standards are readily available for $20 - $40. Seats are also available in Kansas through distribution programs, Child Safety Seat Check Up Events and Fitting Stations, KDOT voucher program and the Safe Kids Kansas Coalition. Certain models of child safety seats will convert to a high-back booster seat. Contact Safe Kids Kansas for your local car seat program contacts.
Observational surveys conducted in 2001 found that 92% of Kansas children ages 0-4 were in child seats, but only 52% of children ages 4-14 were protected by a booster seat or seat belt.
For information about the new Kansas Law, visit www.kansasboosterseat.org

Adult seat belt use:
The Kansas Safety Belt Use Act (KSA8-250) is a secondary law that requires all drivers and front passengers to be properly secured with a safety belt.

Drivers are cited for this violation only in combination with a separate moving violation.
The fine is $10 including court costs for each offense and applies to vehicles designed to carrying 10 or fewer passengers.
Studies consistently show that the best way to get children buckled up is to get adults buckled up. When a driver buckles up, children are buckled up 87% of the time, however, when a driver is unbuckled, child belt use drops to only 24%.
A recent study reported in the Journal of Pediatrics found “Driver restraint use was the strongest predictor of child restraint use. A restrained driver was three times more likely to restrain a child.”
Many drivers just don’t believe they’ll be in a crash, so they don’t put on their own seat belt or make sure that children are restrained. The possibility of being stopped and ticketed (i.e., primary law) is a necessary step for many drivers to properly protect children by always buckling them up.
A survey of parents who have infants shows that the lack of adult belt use particularly endangers babies; parents who don’t buckle up are more likely to improperly place babies in the front seat, leaving them at serious risk of being injured or killed in a motor vehicle crash.
Primary seat belt use laws have been shown to be effective in increasing Safety belt use in adults, teens, and children. Primary enforcement sends motorists a clear message that the state considers belt use necessary for the Safety of motor vehicle occupants. The end result will be fewer Kansas children injured and killed in motor vehicle crashes.