"THE HEART OF THE MATTER"
a special program of the National Emergency Medicine Association (NEMA)
Week: 589.2
Guest: Heather Paul, Exec. Dir. National Safe Kids Campaign
Topic: Car seats/GM
Host/Producer: Steve Girard
NEMA: Using your child seat correctly?...you sure?...coming up..
SPOT: For 15 years, the National Emergency Medicine Association has worked against stroke, heart disease and trauma. Join the effort, call 800-332-6362.
NEMA: 1400 child deaths each year in auto crashes...a quarter million injured. And 40% of kids aren’t buckled up at all. We can do better to protect our kids while we drive. Heather Paul of the National Safe Kids Campaign, a grass roots coalition that’s behind "Safe Kids Buckle Up", along with General Motors...says 4 out of 5 child seats are used incorrectly...
PAUL: Parents don’t understand the importance of a locking clip for rear facing infant seats...to get a tight fit between the lap and shoulder belt. Some folks don’t even know how to install the seat and attach it to the car...there are lots of crashes with children in car seats that aren’t even connected to the seat of the car and they’re being put in convertible seats at too young an age, when actually, their necks are not strong enough yet to be facing forward. So, in those crash forces, children are safer rear facing up until at least 22 pounds.
NEMA: Safe Kids Buckle Up invites you to stop by your local GM dealer, where coalition members check out your child seat...and hand out pamphlets and videos. Call 1-800-441-1888 for more information. I’m Steve Girard at The Heart of the Matter.