Child safety seats
Introduction
Kids often suffer from injuries or even face death from motor vehicle accidents. Majority of these sorts of children are often at that state of vulnerability when they are not in their child protection seats. The most excruciating injuries such as neck, brain or spinal wounds are the most common forms of injuries that a child who is not under the safety child seat can encounter these threats easily. In the past, children have also been recorded to experience minor injuries even after being strapped into the child safety seats. Researchers have found out that the guardians of such kids have not being properly strapping the children into their safety seats. The effectiveness of the child safety seats can only be apprehended by the proper utilization of the by the guardian of the child. As children are more vulnerable to injuries of the head and neck due a larger head size and weaker neck muscles than grownups, the kids should always be in the rear seat before turning the age of one, as stated by the Unites States national law. . This research paper handles the various means the laws that Wisconsin and other states have handled and re-instated to curb the number of deaths that occur from the controversies within the child safety seats policies. (Browner et al, 2002).
Wisconsin State Laws on Child safety seats
Generally, any vehicle sold within the state of Wisconsin is a compulsory policy to have seat belts. Numerous cases have been held within the courts of Wisconsin that have concerned the guardians suing or complaining about the inefficiency of the child safety seats. Lawyers on the State side have based their evidence on the lack of proper use of the safety seats. It becomes difficult for the parent or guardian to cope with some situations as a number of the infants may be left disabled after such ordeals. Just as car accidents are the foremost causes of deaths among people amid the age of three to fourteen (Michigan Auto lawyers blog, 2008). Such cases are the reasons the Wisconsin state congress has considered making some strict child safety laws.
At the same time, the child safety seats can to a great extent prevent serious injuries to the infant in case of an accident. In accordance with the manufacturers conditions the child safety seats operate under different measures that are supposed to ensure safety to the child during any kind of crash. Statistics show that rollover accidents injure children who were not restrained at all three times as much as children who were under the child safety seat, whether properly or carelessly strapped. As the age of the children is considered during the law making policies in Wisconsin, the height and weight of the child also matter when it comes to the type and method of restraining a child to the safety seats. For the instance, the law of Wisconsin requires that at the height of a hundred and thirty five centimeters and below, should always be restrained in a safety seat when the in a mobile vehicle.
Comparison with other state laws
Other state laws have different setting for the use of the child safety seats when compared to Wisconsin. Wyoming for instance has set the age for the child restrained in the rear seat at eighteen years of age, and restrained in the rear seats of the vehicle, if they are available. When compared to the policies of Wisconsin, children from the state of Wyoming have reported fewer injuries as the higher the age of the children during driving, the lower the risks the kids face while on the road.
Statistics on Child safety seats laws in Wisconsin
The extent to which the accidents among the children in Wisconsin is displayed when statistics show that since the year 1998, less than half of the accidental injury-linked deaths occur to kids at the age amid one to fourteen years. Road accidents have been the main cause of deaths to the children among this age in the state of Wisconsin. Ever since the mid seventies, the rates of deaths among children on the road have decreased by almost a half (Child passenger safety facts in Wisconsin, 2009). Particularly in the year 1998, a study was conducted and it was found out those more than two thousand children at the age of twelve years and younger lost their lives in road accidents. Among the two thousand and twenty seven to be specific, who died, 65 percent died as passengers, 23% as pedestrians and around seven percent were pedal cyclists (Child passenger safety facts in Wisconsin, 2009).
Wisconsin road analysts have gone as far as trying to find out the role that alcohol has played in the accidents that have claimed the lives of the children. Almost 24% of children who lost their lives between the years 1985 and 1996 were between the ages of 0 to 14 years. All child passengers who have been slain during the same study of the years 1985, 64% of these children were in cars that the driver was drunk. The State of Wisconsin has however set up certain policies that are supposed to aid in the reduction of children involved accidents. The state recommended the fixing of child safety seats within all family vehicles that have been recorded reduction in the fatal wounds by a whopping 71% for infants, and 54% for the kids. Therefore, for the kids within the age of 0 to 15 who have lost their lives were due to the non-restraining of the child safety seats that that state had initially publicized.
Other state statistics and comparisons of the child safety seats laws
Studies that were conducted in the United states over the ninety nineties indicate that sixty percent of kids between the ages of one to four, 85% of infants and 65% of youths at the age of 5 to 15, were already restrained in a child safety seat or safety belts for the adolescents. It also indicated that only one to four of the kids amid the age of 1 to four are driven under an unrestrained driver while they themselves were already strapped into safety belts and child safety seats. Another survey in different states apart from Wisconsin concerning almost 6000 children were only 21% were properly restrained into their safety seats. When Wisconsin laws are compared to the laws of other states, Wisconsin bears more concurred to policies by its citizens compared to other states. This is a clear indication that only accounted for strategies as those of Wisconsin can effectively hinder the number of road accidents inflicting children at a tender age.
Conclusion
Wisconsin state laws have bared much adherence by the citizens of the state that it has recorded fewer accidents and injuries to the kids. Statistics have provided enough evidence that supports the idea that Wisconsin faces fewer accidents due to the laws that were enhanced ever since the nineties. This research paper handles the various means the laws that Wisconsin and other states have handled and re-instated to curb the number of deaths that occur from the controversies within the child safety seats policies.
References:
Browner, B., Pollak, A., Gupton, C. & American academy of orthopedic surgeons. (2002). Emergency care and transportation of the sick and injured. New York: Emergency care and transportation of the sick and injured.
Child passenger safety facts in Wisconsin, http://www.frankpasternak.com/child_passenger_safety.htm, retrieved on 1st, November, 2010.
Michigan Auto lawyers’ blog, http://www.michiganautolaw.com/auto-lawyers- blog/2010/09/21/child-safety-is-your-baby-properly-secured-in-the-car-seat-when-an- auto-accident-occurs/, retrieved on 1st, November, 2010.
