Automotive child safety isn’t what it used to be … thank goodness

I remember when I was young. Our family car was a station wagon. As far as my brother, sister and I were concerned, that was just great. We were free to roam throughout the back of the car at our leisure. We’d climb over the seat and back again playing games of tag and who knows what else. No seatbelts – nothing.

Today, that’s not allowed. By law, all children in Illinois must be securely belted into their seats or, if younger, strapped into an approved child-safety seat.

My dad told me about the child seat they used when I was young.

“It was just some fabric strung between a frame made of conduit,” he said. “The conduit had hooks on the end that hung over the back of the front seat so you sat between your mother and me.”

By description, it sounds like we were loaded for launching in case of an accident: hardly the ideal way to ensure safety.

Using proper safety equipment in a vehicle is an idea Denny Norton, owner of Ringwood based auto repair shop Performance Unlimited, heartily agrees with. Norton has driven in stockcar races and other automotive competitions. He swears by using the best available safety equipment.

“If you have a wreck and you’re not prepared, you could be seriously injured or worse,” he said. “You have a roll cage so you won’t be crushed if the car rolls. You wear a fire-retardant suit in case you have a fire. All the safety equipment in a car has a specific purpose. It’s all designed to keep you safer and it’s often the difference between walking away from a wreck or being carried away.”

In terms of children in passenger vehicles, Norton said he can’t imagine why any parent would want to shortchange safety.

“Years ago, we didn’t know any better,” Norton said. “Seat belts weren’t even standard equipment on most cars. If you wanted seatbelts, you had to special order them with your new car.”

Today, all cars come with seatbelts. Cars also come with 2-Stage air bags to cushion the blow in an accident. And yet, “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age from 2 to 14 years old (2001 figures),” according to a 2003 National Highway Traffic Safety Association report. Take away the safety features and the number is likely to go much higher.

According to the Illinois Child Passenger Protection Act, revised January 1, 2004, parents are “responsible for providing for the protection of such child by properly securing him or her in an appropriate child restraint system.”

The point is that, with proper care, and use of approved child-safety restraints, children stand a much better chance of surviving an accident without significant injury. Driving with appropriate caution further improves each child’s chances but even that isn’t an iron-clad guarantee.

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