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Facts to Know Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children in the United States. Half of the number of children ages 0-14 who were killed in motor vehicle crashes in the year 2004 were not wearing seat belts or not in a car seat or booster seat. Most injuries and deaths to children in motor vehicle accidents can be prevented. Children should be placed in car seats or booster seats designed for their age and size. Children should start using a booster seat at about 40 pounds. They should ride in a booster seat until they are about 4'9" tall. Booster seats reduce the risk of injury by 59% when compared with seat belts. Children age 12 and under should ride in the back seat. This is the safest part of the car. Children under age 12 should never be in the front seat if airbags are in the car. The force of the airbag opening during a crash can hurt or kill a young child even when the vehicle is moving slowly. |
CAR SAFETY |
There were 42,643 fatal car wrecks in the year 2004 according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2003 there were 6,328,000 automobile crashes. Cars are rated for safety through scores from crash tests that rate front, side, and rear damage in collisions. This means that the impact of the crash is in the front, side, and the rear of the vehicle. Gold winners received good ratings in front, side, and rear tests. Silver winners received good ratings in front and side tests and ratings that are adequate in rear collision tests. Larger cars provide more protection than smaller cars, but some small cars are still safe. A small car that receives a good rating is safer than a larger car that does not receive a good rating. Driving can be dangerous, so follow these safe driving tips! What Should You Do? Sometimes there are things that happen on the road that no one can predict ahead of time. Here are some tips on what to do in a dangerous situation. Hydroplaning - take your foot off of the gas pedal and keep the steering wheel straight. Brakes Do Not Work - Manual transmission: shift into a lower gear, release the clutch, apply the emergency brake. Automatic transmission: shift into a lower gear and apply the emergency brake. Gas Pedal is Stuck - tap the gas pedal with your foot. Shift to neutral and push on the brakes. Tire Blowouts - try to keep the car going straight. Slow down. When the car slows down move off the road. Skidding - let off the gas pedal gradually. Turn the steering wheel the same direction that the car is skidding. When the car stops skidding and is going straight again, turn the steering wheel back the other way so that the car will not skid the other direction.
Next >>The Future of the Automobile Citations Automobile Safety. Retrieved January 15, 2006 from http://www.meineke.com. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute Research Statistics. Retrieved February 26, 2006 from http://www.iihs.org/ . National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Child Passinger Safety. Retrieved February 28, 2006 from http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/duip/spotlite/chldseat.htm. Williams, C. (2005). 2006 Safest Cars. Star-Telegram.com. Retrieved January 8, 2006 from http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/classifieds/automotive/13517977.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp .
After learning about the number of deaths due to motor vehicle crashes we decided to have a safety campaign at our school that would encourage students and their parents to use seatbelts, car seats, and booster seats. We decided on the slogan, "Love Us Enough to Buckle Up" and made posters to go around the school. We made flyers to give out to the car riders in the afternoon. We also sent the flyers home with kids that ride the school bus. We hope that our safety campaign has let people know how important it is to make sure children are buckled into car seats, booster seats, and seat belts (after growing to at least 4'9" tall). We hope this campaign will help to keep our friends and family safe!
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You have learned that many children's lives can be saved by wearing a seat belt, using a car or booster seat, and keeping children under 12 in the back seat. The Cruizin' Tigerz have begun a safety campaign at school called "
