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Children at risk

- June 20, 2008

Since January 1, 2007, it is the law in Nova Scotia for children that are under 145 cm (4' 9") or under age nine to be in a booster seat while traveling in a vehicle. (Photo courtesy Child Safety Link)

Beth Bruce has heard a lot of reasons from parents why their school-aged children arent using booster seats. Were just going on a short trip. My child is too big. He feels like a sissy. I dont want to argue with her.

There are whole scenarios parents will give us, says Dr. Bruce, of 窪蹋勛圖厙s Faculty of Health Professions and Department of Surgery. But what we dont know is why those things convince them to put their children at risk.

School-aged children in Canada are 10 times more likely than children in other age groups to die or sustain severe injury in road crashes. Misuse of safety seats and failure to use of booster seats use are primarily responsible for these high rates of automobile deaths and injuries.

Dr. Bruce was recently awarded $438,000 from AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence to improve our understanding of parents use of booster seats. Using a booster seat correctly reduces risk of injury by 70 per cent and death by 90 per cent.

People have gotten the message with the younger children but not so much with the older children, which is why were doing the research.

Beth Bruce

Well be looking at the challenges parents face in adhering to national booster seat guidelines for their children, said Dr. Bruce. Strategies for working with parents who are unaware or resistant to booster seat recommendations will be identified and tested in order to mitigate the high rates of serious injury and death in this age group.

A national 2006 Transport Canada study reported that at least 70 per cent of Canadian children aged four to nine years were not in a booster seat. In Nova Scotia the rate is 65 per cent. Of those Nova Scotia children who were not in a booster seat and were involved in a car crash, 83 per cent suffered an injury requiring hospital treatment.

Since January 1, 2007, it is the law in Nova Scotia for children that are under 145 cm (4' 9") or under age nine to be in a booster seat while traveling in a vehicle. A booster seat protects a childs small body in a crash and raises them up so the adult seatbelt fits properly.

It seems people are aware of the legislation, but theyre still not complying, says Dr. Bruce.

Children from birth to the age of one year are safest in rear-facing child safety seats. Over the age of one and 10 kg (22 lb) and babies can move to a forward-facing car seat with a tether strap. Many children outgrow the forward-facing car seat at approximately four-and-a-half, graduating to a booster seat.

People have gotten the message with the younger children but not so much with the older children, which is why were doing the research.

The AUTO21 Network of Centres of Excellence currently supports more than 300 researchers working on 54 auto-related research and development projects at 43 Canadian universities and institutions. An annual $11-million budget of public and private sector funding supports research in six key areas, including health; safety and injury prevention; and societal issues.

Dr. Bruces work is also supported by , , Magna International, 窪蹋勛圖厙, , and the