“We are so very grateful to Senator Van de Putte for her leadership over the past several legislative sessions in support of strengthening Texas’ child passenger safety laws,” said Susan Douglass, RN, University Health System administrative director for Child Health and Safety. “Thanks to her efforts and the support of so many other elected officials and child passenger advocates, Texas children are now significantly safer.” During the past session, legislators passed Senate Bill 60, a new booster seat law that requires children to be restrained in a booster seat until they are eight years of age or at least 4’9” tall.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injury to children; and according to research conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia booster seats reduce the risk of serious head, spinal cord and internal injuries by 59 percent.
Additionally, the law, which took effect September 1, 2009, changed the definition of passenger vehicles to include 15-passenger vans, a vehicle commonly used by day care centers. It also fixed a gap in the law so that all passengers between the ages of 15 and 17 must be restrained regardless of their position in the vehicle.
“We know from research that children who are appropriately restrained are up to 71 percent safer” added Douglass. “We also know that child passengers are safer when parents choose the right seat for the age and weight of their child and follow the manufacturer’s instructions during installation.”
However, according to University Health System research, 90 percent of the child safety seats currently in use in San Antonio are installed incorrectly. As the only Level I Trauma Center in South Texas that cares for children, University Health System sees hundreds of critically injured children every year.
“Unfortunately, the majority of these children suffer from preventable, unintentional injuries directly related to motor vehicle crashes,” said Van de Putte. “So, I am so pleased to be here to help families at Esparza Elementary School learn the importance of protecting their children while they ride in vehicles. We are also providing families who need them with child passenger seats and teaching them how to correctly install and use them.”
University Health System, through foundation grants, distributed 1,974 booster seats to Bexar County residents in 2009. Douglass said over the next six months, they will continue to provide free booster seats in those areas of Bexar County with the greatest number of children injured in car crashes.
“We are all hopeful that these efforts will significantly reduce the number of children injured or killed each year, and we dream of a day when all of our children can grow up to lead long, happy, healthy and productive lives,” added Van de Putte.
