Keeping Children Safe: Proper Use of Child Safety Restraints

The California Office of Traffic Safety has recently announced that it will endow a $207,000 state grant from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s funds for its “Keep ’Em Safe” program.

Under the program, parents will be taught how to safely transport children in vehicles and some 2,000 child-safety seats will be given for free to low-income families in San Diego County.

By far, car crashes are the leading cause of death for the age group 2 to 14 years old. The lack and misuse of child safety restraints is the primary cause of child passenger deaths and injuries in motor vehicle accidents.

The proper use of child safety seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury by as much as 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars.

An 11-year old boy recently suffered serious head injuries because he was not properly restrained even by a seatbelt, in a rollover crash in Willits. A one-year old child also got hurt in the same accident because he also wasn’t secured in a child safety seat.

California imposes the following laws on proper child restraint:

• A child who is six years of age or older but less than 16 years of age, or who is less than six years of age and weighs 60 pounds or more, may not be transported in the motor vehicle without securing the child in an appropriate child passenger restraint system or safety belt.

• Any child under the age of six years old, weighing less than 60 pounds must be secured in a federally approved child passenger restraint system and ride in the back seat of a vehicle.

But even with a mandatory child restraint law, additional efforts should be made to address child passenger fatalities in California.

The “Keep ‘Em Safe” will not just provide families the equipment to keep their children safe but also the knowledge on how to actually and effectively use the child safety restraints in order to protect and save their children’s lives.

The Double Dangers of Drugged and Drunk Driving

It was revealed in a 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that there are around 10 million people who drive while under the influence of illicit drugs.

On Jan. 19, 2007, 28-year old Ryan Karr of Windsor was seen by witnesses driving at the speed of 70 mph during rush-hour traffic before he crashed his Mitsubishi Eclipse against a stopped Honda bearing 6 people.

Trapped inside the burning car, Maria Lopez Camacho, 54; Edith Carlos Medina, 23 and her son, Fernando Carlos, 7; Almadelia Mendera-Basurto, 16; and Carmina Solorio, 23, of Mexico were killed in the crash.

4-year-old Christian Flores Carlos survived the fiery crash but was badly burned and lost his arm and leg.

Karr allegedly worried more about the damage to his car than rescuing the victims.

According to the California Highway Patrol Officer Heather Bushey, he also did poorly on the field sobriety test where he was unable to keep his balance and failed to count correctly. Karr was also indicated to have glassy eyes.

The results from a blood sample which he gave revealed that he had consumed pot or coke within 4 to failed 8 hours of the crash. There was also a marijuana pipe found inside his car.

Karr is facing charges of five felony and five misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter and a count of driving under the influence of drugs and may face up to more than 6 years in state prison if convicted.

The Institute for Behavior and Health estimate that 20% of motor vehicle accidents were caused by drugged driving.

Drugged driving may in fact, soon become bigger than drunk driving as a recent survey showed that drugs were present 7 times more frequently than alcohol among weekend nighttime drivers in the U.S.

At least 16% were tested positive for drugs as compared to 2% of the drivers who tested at or above the legal limit for alcohol.

What’s worse about the rising incidence of drugged drivers is the fact that drugged drivers are also more likely to be drunk. In a research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, many drivers who tested positive for alcohol also tested positive for marijuana.

This makes drunk and drugged drivers, doubly dangerous.

Most Child Deaths Caused by Accidents

Children, because of their minority are extremely vulnerable to getting injured or even killed without proper adult supervision. Their immaturity leads them to underestimate threats or often, they would just be too helpless to defend themselves against danger.

The San Diego County's Health and Human Services Agency and Safe Kids San Diego recently released a report which emphasized most child fatalities are caused unintentionally. In San Diego alone, about 25 children under the age of 15 die each year because of motor vehicle accidents, falls and drowning.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for children aged 5 to 14.

Drowning accident on the other hand, is the primary cause of death for children aged 1-4 years old. Also, for children in this age group, the top causes of hospitalization are falls, poisoning and burns and scalds.

Infants or children younger than 1 year old often die because of suffocation or choking.

While the child restraint laws have helped to decrease statistics, drowning is a major concern in San Diego. According to Mary Beth Moran, coordinator of Safe Kids San Diego, drowning reached its highest peak since 10 years last July with 30 nearly drowning.

Child deaths are tragic, not only because of the loss of life and great potential but also because most of these deaths could have been easily prevented.

Adult supervision is the single most protection against child deaths. Parents should be aware that children should be watched over at all times and that all safety measures that can be used to protect children should be used.

Young children should be supervised around bodies of water or taught how to swim. They should be taught road safety, such as when it is safe to cross the street and where. Parents should also follow child restraint laws, few are actually even are aware that children should stay in the back seat until they are 13.

The vigilance of parents as well as their adherence to laws with regard to child safety goes a long way in curbing the incidence of child deaths.

Battling Motor Vehicle Accidents in Los Angeles

For quite a long number of years, Los Angeles is experiencing great troubles in dealing with various types of motor vehicle accidents that results to thousands of people injured and even killed.

Most of these untoward incidents are being caused by those people who are negligent and careless with their behavior. Further, during these recent years, famous celebrities are also facing annoyance and dangers in dealing with paparazzi photographers who frequently go beyond their limits just to take a close shot on them.

Enough is enough for these irresponsible acts as many Hollywood stars echoed their appeal against paparazzi. During an inaugural meeting, held at the LA City Hall, celebrities gave their testimonies of dangerous chases and dreadful experiences with paparazzi.

However, the Police Department seems so sluggish and uninterested in forming a task force to battle these occurrences. They said that all the existing rules and operations are just enough to handle paparazzi problems.

In my opinion, I think that it is just time to establish a group operating against paparazzi. We should not wait until such major accidents occur due to these dangerous dealings.

Even our celebrities have their right to protection on the roads – and creating a special task force may keep them safe from those people who earn money at their expense.

Paparazzi photographers must learn to respect the privacy of these celebrities at some point. They must also be aware that our laws will apply if they have caused injuries and damages resulting from such performances.