Several Highway Safety events are happening around the state this weekend!
Melissa Taylor and I will be joining certified CPS technicians from CAMC at the Teddy Bear Fair at Women and Children's Hospital this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you know anyone that needs their car seats checked, send them our direction!
The National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Clubs will be in Charleston Saturday morning, meeting with Governor Manchin at 8 a.m., and then heading to the Clay Center in the afternoon and Simpson Memorial United Methodist at 6 p.m. For more details, see the article in the Charleston Gazette. Joe Tyree will be participating in this event and representing Highway Safety.
Paul Blume will be down in Beckley Saturday Night for the "Chili Night" with an informational booth/display set up. More details can be found here.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Avoiding the Brain Bucket-US DOT Proposes New Helmet Rules
Switching gears, let's take a look at motorcycle safety and helmets.
This past Monday, US DOT Secretary Mary Peters proposed new safety rules for motorcycle helmets. You can find the press release here.
Our motorcycle safety coordinator, Joe Tyree, has mentioned on several occasions that many riders today are still wearing novelty helmets-ones that are not DOT certified, also known as "brain buckets". Isn't that awful? Anyways, its a known fact that helmets offer a great deal of protection in a crash and can reduce the risk of serious injury and fatality, but if the helmet is not DOT certified, it may not offer the same protection-thus the gruesome nickname.
The new rules would make manufacturers place more tamper-resistant labels on their helmets, thus making it harder for vendors to remove them off of good helmets to stick them on the novelty ones.
The proposed rules would also make the testing done to helmets more stringent. The improved labeling and testing system should give consumers more confidence that they are buying a safe helmet.
Because Joe is out of the office this week, our fearless leader, Bob Tipton, graciously modeled approved and unapproved helmets for this blog so you could see the difference.
This past Monday, US DOT Secretary Mary Peters proposed new safety rules for motorcycle helmets. You can find the press release here.
Our motorcycle safety coordinator, Joe Tyree, has mentioned on several occasions that many riders today are still wearing novelty helmets-ones that are not DOT certified, also known as "brain buckets". Isn't that awful? Anyways, its a known fact that helmets offer a great deal of protection in a crash and can reduce the risk of serious injury and fatality, but if the helmet is not DOT certified, it may not offer the same protection-thus the gruesome nickname.
The new rules would make manufacturers place more tamper-resistant labels on their helmets, thus making it harder for vendors to remove them off of good helmets to stick them on the novelty ones.
The proposed rules would also make the testing done to helmets more stringent. The improved labeling and testing system should give consumers more confidence that they are buying a safe helmet.
Because Joe is out of the office this week, our fearless leader, Bob Tipton, graciously modeled approved and unapproved helmets for this blog so you could see the difference.
Novelty helmet-he looks ready for the road now, doesn't he?
DOT Approved helmet-See the big DOT logo? The bad thing is, some novelty vendors will actually remove the stickers from approved helmets, and place them on helmets like the one in the first set of pictures.
Any motorcycle enthusiasts out there? What are your thoughts on the proposed new rules, or on helmets, period?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Remember: Something is better than nothing!
Staying with car seats for one more day, the Charleston Gazette today published a report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety on the safety belt fit of 41 booster seats. You can find the report here.
Thirteen of the seats they evaluated did not improve the fit of particularly the lap belt, ten were given "best bets" and five were given "good bets". My concern with this study is that parents will panic again, as they did when Consumer Reports issued bad recommendations for several models of infant seats, though they did eventually "recall" their report.
Its important to note that this study was for seat belt fit, and not performance in a crash. Although, in the world of highway safety, we say the two go hand-in-hand: proper belt fit equals better "ride down" protection in a crash.
Key things to look for regardless of which make/model booster seat you have:
1. proper fit-lap belt on upper thighs, NOT abdomen, and shoulder belt at mid shoulder.
2. adequate head/neck protection-backless boosters are popular, and approved, as long as the vehicle seat that the booster is sitting on has some sort of head restraint-whether adjustable or built into the seat.
Insurance Institute president Adrien Lund offers this final piece of advice, which I wholeheartedly agree with: “No matter how a booster did in our evaluations, parents still need to see how it fits their child in their car,” Lund advises. He urges them “not to rush to buy a new booster if theirs isn’t among the top seats. Check how it fits and remember, it’s better for children to ride restrained in any booster than to let them ride unbuckled.”
Again, something is better than nothing, but we always strive for the best fit for each child on every trip, every time. If you would like to have your seat checked to make sure of proper fit, please don't hesitate to contact the Highway Safety Office at 304-558-6080. Or, to find a certified technician in your area, click here.
Next blog entry, I promise, something other than car seats!
Thirteen of the seats they evaluated did not improve the fit of particularly the lap belt, ten were given "best bets" and five were given "good bets". My concern with this study is that parents will panic again, as they did when Consumer Reports issued bad recommendations for several models of infant seats, though they did eventually "recall" their report.
Its important to note that this study was for seat belt fit, and not performance in a crash. Although, in the world of highway safety, we say the two go hand-in-hand: proper belt fit equals better "ride down" protection in a crash.
Key things to look for regardless of which make/model booster seat you have:
1. proper fit-lap belt on upper thighs, NOT abdomen, and shoulder belt at mid shoulder.
2. adequate head/neck protection-backless boosters are popular, and approved, as long as the vehicle seat that the booster is sitting on has some sort of head restraint-whether adjustable or built into the seat.
Insurance Institute president Adrien Lund offers this final piece of advice, which I wholeheartedly agree with: “No matter how a booster did in our evaluations, parents still need to see how it fits their child in their car,” Lund advises. He urges them “not to rush to buy a new booster if theirs isn’t among the top seats. Check how it fits and remember, it’s better for children to ride restrained in any booster than to let them ride unbuckled.”
Again, something is better than nothing, but we always strive for the best fit for each child on every trip, every time. If you would like to have your seat checked to make sure of proper fit, please don't hesitate to contact the Highway Safety Office at 304-558-6080. Or, to find a certified technician in your area, click here.
Next blog entry, I promise, something other than car seats!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
National Child Passenger Safety Week a Big Success in West Virginia
You'll have to forgive me, but since I am writing the blog, I get to choose what's first! I mean, as long as it's OK with the boss:-)
So to kick this blog off, I'll start with one of the subjects nearest and dearest to me (cuts and bruises from installations aside).
National Child Passenger Safety Week was moved from February to September, a move celebrated by many for two obvious reasons: (1) back to school=kids=safety talks and (2) car seat checks are generally more well-received and attended in warmer weather. Makes sense, right?
On Saturday, September 20th, eight car seat checks were held across the state in coordination with National Seat Check Saturday. Two were held in Charleston, and I attended the one at Kohl's at Southridge, which was a combination bounty program/car seat check. What is a bounty program, you ask? A bounty program is where old, recalled, or secondhand seats are brought to a central location in exchange for some "bounty". On this particular day, it was $5 Kohl's gift cards and $10 Gander Mountain gift cards.
The event was a big success! We stayed busy throughout the entire 4+ hours, with 6 CPS technicians on hand checking seats. 46 seats were checked, 20 seats replaced, and between 30 and 40 seats ended up in our bounty pile. This one was from 1987.
That's Chris Walls, from Warner Law Offices holding the seat with me. They were on hand to offer the Gander Mountain cards, and promote Warner Law Offices' commitment to children through their booster seat program.
Kohl's and the CAMC Foundation were the main sponsoring partners of this event, supplying the car seats and materials, as well as the $5 Kohl's gift cards. CAMC Foundation's Community Movers, a group of young professionals in the Charleston area dedicated to supporting the Foundation's programs, were also at the event to ensure the event ran smoothly.
So to kick this blog off, I'll start with one of the subjects nearest and dearest to me (cuts and bruises from installations aside).
National Child Passenger Safety Week was moved from February to September, a move celebrated by many for two obvious reasons: (1) back to school=kids=safety talks and (2) car seat checks are generally more well-received and attended in warmer weather. Makes sense, right?
On Saturday, September 20th, eight car seat checks were held across the state in coordination with National Seat Check Saturday. Two were held in Charleston, and I attended the one at Kohl's at Southridge, which was a combination bounty program/car seat check. What is a bounty program, you ask? A bounty program is where old, recalled, or secondhand seats are brought to a central location in exchange for some "bounty". On this particular day, it was $5 Kohl's gift cards and $10 Gander Mountain gift cards.
The event was a big success! We stayed busy throughout the entire 4+ hours, with 6 CPS technicians on hand checking seats. 46 seats were checked, 20 seats replaced, and between 30 and 40 seats ended up in our bounty pile. This one was from 1987.
That's Chris Walls, from Warner Law Offices holding the seat with me. They were on hand to offer the Gander Mountain cards, and promote Warner Law Offices' commitment to children through their booster seat program.
Kohl's and the CAMC Foundation were the main sponsoring partners of this event, supplying the car seats and materials, as well as the $5 Kohl's gift cards. CAMC Foundation's Community Movers, a group of young professionals in the Charleston area dedicated to supporting the Foundation's programs, were also at the event to ensure the event ran smoothly.
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