Accident highlights car seat safety

As tiny Chloe Jensen struggled to recover from severe head injuries at a Spokane hospital on Sunday, child safety advocates urged parents across the Inland Northwest to take a look at their own car seat precautions.

The 4-month-old Coeur d’Alene girl was critically injured in a Wednesday auto accident near downtown Spokane. Police are investigating whether the baby and her two siblings, ages 2 and 4, were properly restrained when their mother’s 2001 Honda Accord rear-ended another vehicle in traffic.

Results of the investigation are expected next week, said spokesman Sgt. Dave McCabe. The children’s 21-year-old mother, Eileen Jensen, could face misdemeanor charges and potential fines for any child restraint violation, according to Washington law.

But the crash raises larger questions about the proper use of child safety restraints, including car seats and seat belts, advocates said. Family members said Eileen Jensen is “meticulous” about transporting her kids. But Chloe Jensen apparently was strapped into a rear-facing safety seat in the front passenger seat, while at least one of her siblings may have been secured with only a lap belt, police said.

Those are common – but potentially deadly – mistakes made by parents who fail to heed child safety laws and recommendations, experts said.

Some parents simply don’t know what the rules are. Despite widely publicized information about the need for child restraints, the message is not getting through, said Ana Matthews, coordinator for the Safe Kids Coalition of the Spokane County Traffic Safety Commission.

“We have parents that have read the owner’s manuals, and they come to us for affirmation,” said Matthews, whose agency conducts regular safety seat clinics. “And then we have those parents who just don’t have a clue.”

But even parents who know the laws can be confused about how to comply with them. An estimated 80 percent – four out of five – child safety seats are installed incorrectly, technicians said. Either they’re strapped into the wrong place or they’re strapped in the wrong way, said Bonnie Held, a nurse educator and child safety seat instructor with the Panhandle Health District in Coeur d’Alene.

“The seat belt systems are all different,” she said. “You have to really read the instructions.”

In 2005, there were 92 child restraint systems available from 14 manufacturers in the United States, according to the National Highway Transportation System Administration. Combine those figures with the wide range of automobile models, and it’s no surprise that relatively few parents get it right.

“I think most parents are wanting to do the right thing,” Held said.

The problem is exacerbated, though, by recent regional cuts in funding for car safety seat education programs. In North Idaho, a $38,000 state block grant was eliminated, said Joanna Adams, health promotion supervisor for the Panhandle Health District. That discontinued programs that provided regular safety checks and free car seats for low-income families.

The Spokane County agency continues to offer regular car seat clinics, Matthews said. But parents can call any local fire department, police department or health department to find a qualified technician to check installation.

The first step, however, is for parents everywhere to take car seat safety seriously, she said. As streets become increasingly crowded, protection is more necessary than ever.

“We’ve got a lot of people on the roadways, and they’re moving faster,” Matthews said. “We can make it safe out there if we all do our part.”