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SEATBELT SAFETY

Facts about using each type of seat

www.carseatsmadesimple.org

www.buckleupkids.state.mn.us

for more information at the above sites

Rear-Facing Seat

Infant only or rear-facing convertible seat
Newborn to at least 1 year old & 20 pounds
May stay rear facing longer in convertible set to 30 or 35 pounds

Always place rear-facing safety seats in the reclined position at a 30 to 40 degree angle. Keep the harness snug, and at or below the shoulders.
Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an airbag,
Most babies will outgrow an infant seat (designed for babies 20-22 pounds) before age 1. Change to a convertible seat with a higher rear facing weight limit.

Forward-Facing Seat

Convertible or combination seat 1 to 4 years old

Place forward- facing in the upright position
Move the harness straps to the proper reinforced slots
Keep the harness snug and at or above the shoulders. Check the manufacture’s instructions for exact positioning
Some types of child seats can be used as a booster seat when the harness is removed

Booster Seat

A child who is both under age 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches is required to be fastened in a child safety seat or booster seat that meets federal safety standards. Under this law, a child cannot use a seatbelt alone until they are age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches tall – whichever comes first. It is recommended to keep a child in a booster seat based on their height, rather than their age.

Booster are necessary for a child who has outgrown the convertible or combination seat. Booster seats keep the lap belt positioned properly aaround a child’s hips and the shoulder belt in the correct position.
Some booster come with a high back, others come without a back, but both must be used with a lap and shoulder belt.
Boosters without a back may only be used in vehicles with a head rest.
If a vehicle is equipped with only a lap belt, use a tethered harness or check with an auto dealership to have shoulder belts installed.

Adult Seat Belt

Over 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall
Minnesota’s seat belt law is a primary offense, meaning drivers and passengers in all seating positions must be buckled up or in the correct child safety seat. Law enforcement will stop and ticket unbelted motorists or passengers

Your child is ready for an adult seat belt when they can sit with their back against the vehicle seat edge without slouching, and feet touching the floor

Children 4 feet 9 inches or more can correctly fit in a lap/shoulder belt.

Pregnancy and Seat  Belts

Pregnant women should wear the lab belt under the stomach, as low on the hips as possible and against the upper thighs
The shoulder belt should rest between the breasts
Make sure the straps fit snugly

 

 

Check out this website to find the closest seat belt clinic to make sure that you have the child passenger safety seat installed correctly.
www.dps.state.mn.us/ots/CPS_Program/clinic_distribution.asp

Check out seatbelt facts
(just the facts – Minnesota crash facts)
See this valuable video done by Trish Van Pilsum on Fox 9 for the many reasons to always wear your seat belt  This video is called “Room to Live”  Your seatbelt many times gives you that room to live.
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/FOX_9_Archive_Room_to_Live

 

"CLICK IT OR TICKET” Saved a Life….

Jake Wingen, center, attended the MOD Squad briefing for the Safe & Sober Seat Belt Enforcement kick off to tell his story about how “Click It or Ticket” saved his life.

Last December (2009) Jake Wingen, age 17, was a passenger in a vehicle with four other high school students going home after a volleyball game in Faribault. They heard sirens and lights flashing behind them. The Minnesota State Patrol was pulling them over because the driver was observed without a seat belt. The Trooper realized that no one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt and the Trooper then gave them each a seat belt ticket. That ticket ended up saving Jake’s life.

Just three weeks later, on January 21, Jake was a passenger in an SUV with 3 friends. They were headed out on Hwy. 60 by Morristown in the late afternoon. It was snowing with poor visibility when the driver spun out on an icy patch of pavement and hit another vehicle head on. The SUV he was a passenger in rolled. The next thing Jake remembers is lots of lights. He was cut out of his seat belt and transported to District One Hospital with severe injuries. Two of his buddies, the driver and another passenger were also at the hospital. Jake was later transported to North Memorial Hospital, but not by air ambulance because the weather was so bad it couldn’t fly. The fourth passenger in the SUV was not wearing a seat belt and he was ejected out of the vehicle in the rollover and was killed. Jake survived that fatal crash because he was wearing his seat belt. The first officer at the scene, strangely enough, was the Trooper that had ticketed Jake in December.

These two events made a big impression on Jake and when he was asked if he would talk to the law enforcement officers before they went out on a “Click It or Ticket” Saturation Patrol he agreed even though he was nervous about speaking. At the briefing Jake told the officers, “I didn’t usually wear my seat belt. I wasn’t very good about it, but after I got the ticket, and paid over $100, I started buckling up. That ticket saved my life.” This presentation was to reaffirm to law enforcement how important the job they are doing with the Click It or Ticket patrol. Lives ARE saved with a ticket.

.      The MOD Squad includes Minnesota State Patrol, Rice County Sheriff’s Office, and Dundas, Faribault, Lonsdale, Morristown, and Northfield Police Departments. Minnesota state law requires the driver and passengers in all seating positions to be buckled up or seated in the correct child restraint.

NEWS RELEASE

Andy Skoogman, Chief Public Information Officer
CONTACT:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 20, 2011
State Seat Belt Use At Record High, But Proper Booster Seat Use Low
Females, Van Occupants and Seniors Have Highest Rates

ST. PAUL — Minnesota’s seat belt compliance rate continues to climb, reaching a record high of 92.7 percent, up slightly from 92.3 percent in 2010. However, proper use of booster seats is just 64 percent, according to observational surveys conducted by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Traffic Safety.

 

DPS officials attribute the continued increase in seat belt use to awareness and enforcement of the state’s primary seat belt law, which became effective in June 2009. Since then, the number of unbelted deaths has dropped 10 percent, and the number of unbelted severe injuries has dropped 5 percent.

This law allows law enforcement to stop and ticket unbelted drivers or passengers. A statewide seat belt enforcement campaign to increase belt use is on the roads through Oct. 27.


“This high belt use rate means more Minnesotans will survive crashes and families won’t be torn apart by these preventable tragedies,” says DPS Commissioner Mona Dohman. “Our challenge is to encourage those who continue to put their lives at risk to buckle up.”


Seat belt use was 20 percent before the state’s seat belt law became effective in 1986, and the rate has steadily climbed ever since. Belt use was 74 percent a decade ago.

Seat Belt Use Survey (Recorded belt use of 11,000 motorists in 37 counties during two weeks in August.)
  • Statewide seat belt use rate: 92.7 percent.
  • Belt use rate by vehicle type: Van — 96 percent; Car — 94; SUV — 92.5; Pickup — 88. Pickup occupant belt use is historically low, but has improved (up from 81 percent five years ago).
  • Belt use rate by gender: Females — 95 percent; Males — 90 percent. This gap continues to close; the primary belt law has influenced more males to buckle up. Five years ago, female belt use was 92 percent and the male rate was 84.
  • Belt use rate by age: 65 and older — 96 percent; 30–64 — 93; 0–10 — 93; 11–15 — 93; 16–29 — 92. Teen/young adult use continues to improve, up from 84 percent five years ago.

Booster Seat Use Survey (Recorded booster seat use of 3,759 children in 32 counties.)

DPS measured booster seat use for the first time. Boosters are required by law in Minnesota and help adult seat belts fit children correctly. Boosters are for children once they have outgrown a forward-facing harnessed restraint (typically age 4 and 40–60 pounds, depending on seat’s weight and height limitations). Children should remain in a booster until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall.
  • Children properly restrained in a booster seat: 64 percent.
  • Female caregivers more likely than males to put children in boosters.
  • Lowest booster seat use among caregivers ages 16–29 (50 percent).
  • If the driver was not belted, then only 27 percent of the children were in a booster.

The survey also reported 4.7 percent of drivers were using a hand-held phone while driving, translating to more than 17,000 drivers dialing and driving at a given time on Minnesota roads.

2008-2010 Minnesota Traffic Fatalities and Severe Injuries by County and Seat-Belt Use
Source: Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety, June 2011
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