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Seatbelts are the most valuable safety devices in vehicles today. Everyone should wear a seatbelt on every trip. Charles Jennissen, MD, division director for pediatric emergency medicine at University of Iowa Children's Hospital, talks about seat belt safety:
In Iowa, there is a relatively new seat belt campaign to increase awareness of seatbelt use -"Click it, or ticket". How important are seatbelts?
They’re vital. I am glad our law enforcement has made the decision to enforce our seat belt laws in the state. But avoiding a ticket is really not the main reason people should wear seat belts. Besides not smoking, there are very few things that a person can do that will have a greater potential impact on their long term health and on how much longer they might live than always wearing a seat belt. This is especially true for children and young adults.
What about passengers in the backseat, is there also a value to them wearing their seatbelt?
Yes, indeed. In a crash, all improperly restrained passengers are at a tremendously increased risk. Individuals ejected from the vehicle are much more likely to die and suffer serious consequences. This will not happen if you are properly using a seat belt or if a child is adequately placed in a car safety seat. And, interestingly, unrestrained individuals can become projectiles and injure those that are actually restrained. This frequently happens with adults who properly secure their children but not themselves.
I occasionally see a driver who is seat-belted loosely with the belt not snug against their shoulder – does that increase their chance of injuries in an accident?
It certainly does. The shoulder strap portion of a seat belt is designed to lock and prevent the head and torso of the body from moving forward if one is in a crash. If the strap is loose, the belt may not lock before the head and torso of the body hits the steering wheel or window shield of the car.
And for children and toddlers – are they more at risk for injuries if not properly restrained?
The number one killer of our children is motor vehicle crashes. Children’s heads are much larger in proportion to the rest of their body as compared to adults. So a serious head injury is often what an unrestrained child suffers. As we all know, a brain injury is not going to recover like other injuries one might sustain. Wearing seat belts and properly using child safety seats are our best defense against this killer.
How can parents be assured that their child’s safety seat is properly installed?
I would encourage families to attend a car safety seat check-up event to have their installation evaluated by a certified car safety seat technician. These events are held frequently through the Johnson County SAFE KIDS Coalition. The Linn County SAFE KIDS Coalition sponsors monthly car safety seat check-ups in Hiawatha on the second Thursday of each month. Appointments are needed and can be scheduled by calling 319-310-SEAT. Also, the National Highway Traffic Safety has comprehensive information on proper child restraint seat use and is a great resource for families
You work in the emergency room at UI Hospitals and Clinics and literally see the difference between properly seat-belted drivers/riders and those who are not. Is there a clear difference in their injuries?
The difference is truly dramatic. Many properly restrained individuals never even have to come to the emergency room or are able to be discharged with only minor injuries. It is truly heart wrenching watching families anguish over the death or serious injury of a family member after a motor vehicle crash and really lamenting the fact that they failed to protect and properly restrain their child or that the loved one was not wearing their seat belt. It is just terrible and so often could have been avoided.
Last year you were honored with the SAFE KIDS Iowa award for your efforts to upgrade Iowa’s child passenger safety law. What work did you do on the new guidelines to prevent childhood injuries?
Seat belt legislation has been the most effective tool in increasing the percentage of people properly restrained. This has led to decreased death rates and severity of injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes in Iowa and across the country. I was just one of many concerned Iowans from throughout the state that worked hard to improve our child passenger safety law. The next step is to convince legislators to pass a bill requiring children 11 to 17 years of age to be restrained in a seat belt no matter where their position in the vehicle. All Iowans should contact their local state legislators letting them know how they feel about keeping Iowa’s children safe.
Bottom line – How short a car trip do you think anyone should go without properly seat-belting their children and themselves in their vehicles?
Every trip, every time, no matter how short.
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