Keeping kids safe in cars
Posted Mar 11, 2010 By Chris Must
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EMC News - Eighty per cent of children traveling in vehicles are not restrained properly, says Deanna Lindsay.
Chris Must, Perth EMC
Deanna Lindsay and Mandy Kemp of Seats for Kids are spreading the child safety message in rural eastern Ontario.
The executive director of Seats for Kids, a non-profit organization based in Ottawa, was in Perth Feb. 25 for a two-day car-seat clinic held at the police and fire department building.
Five participants registered for the course, including three staff from the Children's Aid Society, whose goal was learning how to make a safer environment for children under their protection.
There are 300 types of seatbelts in Canada, and the two-day course, taught by Lindsay and former Perth resident Mandy Kemp, covered about 14 of them. Even so, "It's a huge amount of information, and it's really intense," said Lindsay. The Perth course was requested by the Children's Aid Society and the town police. "Our goal is to get as many people as possible to take the course so we will have volunteers to come out and help teach others," said Lindsay. This was the first time the course has been held in Perth. Seats for Kids attempted to hold a similar workshop last year, but could not attract sufficient participation.
Lindsay noted that residents of rural areas are traveling longer distances than city-dwellers, and have an even greater need for the information. Federal law says that if your child is not restrained property you are liable to receive a $220 ticket - per child - and lose two demerit points.
Seats for Kids doesn't recommend any specific make of seats. "The best set for you is the one that will fit your child, that will fit your vehicle, and that you will use correctly," said Lindsay.
According to information from Transport Canada, seat belts save about 1,000 lives a year in this country. The seven per cent of Canadians not wearing seat belts account for almost 40 per cent of fatalities in vehicle collisions.
Since 1998 the number of deaths on Canada's roads has been reduced to fewer than 3,000 a year, compared to the mid-1970s, when more than 6,000 Canadians were dying each year. This reduction can be attributed to a number of factors, including new motor vehicle safety standards, improved highway engineering and four-lane divided highways, increased enforcement of traffic laws, and changes in public attitudes toward road safety issues. In addition, since the early '70s Transport Canada has required that seat belts be fitted in all new vehicles in Canada, and all provinces have legislation requiring the use of seat belts and child restraints.
Today 93 per cent of Canadians use their seatbelts, says Transport Canada. Each percentage increase in the national seat belt wearing rate has helped to reduce the number of motor vehicle fatalities.
More information on Seats for Kids is available at www.seatsforkidscanada.com.
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