Philip W. Barnes, PhD

The chances of dying in an automobile accident in 1953 was four times greater than in 2003, based on fatalities per mile driven in the United States. Better roads and medical care along with tougher drunk-driving laws have been attributed to some of this difference. But there was also considerable improvement in vehicle safety features over the 50-year period. Significant safety improvements included power brakes, front disc brakes, four-wheel antilock brake systems, radial-ply tires, penetration-resistant windshields, padded dashboards, collapsible steering columns, auto-body structures that crumple around passenger compartments, lap-and-shoulder safety belts, dual air bags and sun visors. Digital cameras, tire-pressure monitors, and computer-controlled navigation devices should further improve driving safety, among other newer technologies.

Clearly, for infants and small children, the development and required use of appropriate car seats and seat restraints has been very important.  If the data were available, I would bet anything that the chances of a child dying in an automobile accident in 1953 was more than four times greater than it is today.  In 1966, I was driving a 1953 Oldsmobile 2-door sedan – no seat belts, front seats that folded forward without releases, etc.  I put my then 18-month old daughter in a “car seat” — which was no more than an aluminum frame with a nylon seat that hung over the back of the front seat – and headed out.  The back of the front seat of the Olds moved forward and back without any kind of latch to restrain it.  My little girl likely weighed 25 pounds or so, so sitting in the “car seat” atop the front seat, she would be slung forward anytime the car stopped suddenly, with her face smashed into the dashboard.  What I didn’t understand was that the centrifugal force created by a sudden left turn would do the same thing.  I made the turn and remember now — 44 years later — the awful, sickening sound of my little girl’s face hitting the unpadded dashboard.  Blood was running from her badly cut lip, but she was otherwise unhurt.   I think perhaps we had a guardian angel in the car that day.  She could easily have been killed or seriously injured.  But she was not, and she is now the mother of seven of my grandchildren!

We really have no way of knowing how many other small children were seriously injured or killed in auto accidents before the advent of even rudimentary safety equipment.   We do know that modern child safety equipment and other design improvements to save injuries and lives.  It is highly unlikely that an accident like I described above could happen today.  Most importantly, every small child riding in a car in Texas must be in the back seat – not the front – and restrained in size-appropriate car seats.

Even with new technologies and much safer child restraints, children still die in auto accidents.  Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children age 3 to 6 and 8 to 14. In 2007, 6,532 passenger vehicle occupants 14 and younger were involved in fatal crashes. Parents and caregivers are urged to make sure their car seats and booster seats are properly installed in their vehicles to help prevent injuries and deaths among their children.

Are you looking for a vehicle safety seat for your infant, toddler or 4-8 year old child but overwhelmed by the choices and worried about how to properly install your car seat? The illustration above shows the “4 easy steps to protect our children.”  Be sure and choose the proper car seat for your youngsters.