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Environment, Energy and Transportation Program

Protecting Children: A Guide to Child Traffic Safety Laws

Executive Summary

Motor vehicle crashes cost $32.6 billion in medical care and $230.6 billion in overall expenses each year. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), every American shares that burden at about $820 per person per year. Each state's economy is affected by the costs associated with motor vehicle crashes. The per capita crash costs for each state vary from roughly $600 to $1,200, or between 1.3 percent and 3.8 percent of the per capita income for each state.

On average, crashes cause about 41,000 deaths each year and millions of non-fatal injuries. Most people believe that these fatalities and injuries happen by chance and cannot be prevented. However, most motor vehicle crashes are caused by behaviors that are predictable and preventable. Behaviors such as not wearing seat belts, not using child safety seats and drunk driving can lead to injuries-and even fatalities-resulting from car crashes. Seat belt use alone saved 11,900 lives, 325,000 serious injuries and $50 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other injury related costs in 2000. Therefore, steps to improve traffic safety save both lives and tax dollars.

One group most affected by traffic crashes is children. In fact, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of fatal unintentional injuries for children between the ages of 4 and 14. In 2001, 2,658 children under age 16 died in car crashes-slightly lower than the 2000 toll of 2,811 children. The rate has dropped by nearly 50 percent during the past 25 years. State legislators can take credit for this improvement. Whether by passing stronger child occupant protection laws, endorsing public education efforts or informing their constituents, state legislators play an important role in working toward improved child passenger safety.

As vehicle miles traveled have increased during the last few decades, traffic fatalities have continued to decline. This pattern can be attributed to safer cars, a more educated public and increased seat belt use. One proven way to increase seat belt use is through state seat belt laws. Forty-nine states (New Hampshire is the exception) have seat belt laws and all 50 states have child passenger protection laws. The child passenger protection laws throughout the 50 states are primary enforcement laws: police officers can stop a vehicle solely for violation of this law. (Certain provisions of the child passenger protection laws in Colorado and Nebraska call for secondary enforcement.) Such laws provide protection to most children, but some fail to cover all children in all seating positions. Each year, state legislatures consider hundreds of bills that are designed to strengthen child passenger protection laws and close gaps in coverage.

One gap is protection for child passengers between the ages of 4 and 8. Often, children who reach age 4 are too big for car seats but not big enough to use an adult-sized safety belt. NHTSA recommends that children should ride restrained in booster seats until they are 8 years old, unless they exceed 4'9" in height. Studies have shown that children under 4'9" are too small to ride safely when restrained by an adult-sized seat belt. During the past few years, more and more states have proposed booster seat laws. Today, 13 states have passed laws requiring the use of booster seats.

Some opponents of child passenger protection laws argue that the laws pose a burden to low-income families. In answer to this dilemma, many states already have established child safety seat donation and loan programs. Under these programs, low-income families can receive a child safety seat or can borrow one. Some of these programs are funded through private companies and grants; in some cases, funds are generated through fines from child safety law violations. However, some booster seats are relatively inexpensive and cost as little as $20.

Since their inception, air bags have been tremendously successful in saving lives. They also have been blamed for the deaths of many young children, however. The primary reason for these deaths was that the child was too small to absorb the force of the inflating air bag. Today, air bag deaths among children have decreased. Some attribute this decrease to public awareness campaigns designed to inform parents about the risks associated with air bag use and the benefits of having children sit in the rear seat. Further, air bag on and off switches are available for vehicles such as pickup trucks that have only front seats. A few states have passed laws requiring that children under a certain age to be seated in the rear seat if they are riding in a vehicle that is equipped with a passenger air bag.

The cargo areas of pickup trucks are designed to carry cargo, not passengers. Cargo areas do not meet occupant safety standards that apply to passenger seating positions. However, space limitations inside pickup truck cabs sometimes force passengers to sit in the back. People who ride in these cargo areas are taking a substantial risk. On average, between 1994 and 2000, 63 child fatalities (ages 1 to 17) per year were associated with pickup truck cargo areas. Thirty-one states address passengers riding in the cargo areas of pickup trucks to varying degrees through state law.

Children suffer hundreds of injuries each year in pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Communities in many states have joined to increase awareness and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. Some communities have redesigned streets and sidewalks to ensure a higher level of safety, while others have increased enforcement of current laws. Many states have laws governing pedestrians and bicyclists.

Safe streets and neighborhoods are not the only problems facing child pedestrians. Many children ride their bikes, skate and ride scooters. Head injuries among child bicyclists account for nearly 60 percent of fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes. To combat this problem, several states have passed laws requiring helmet use by children.

Although some children choose to ride their bikes or walk to school, thousands of others begin and end their day with a trip on a big yellow school bus. Statistically, school bus travel is one of the safest forms of transportation. To keep it that way, safety organizations continue to study current school bus occupant protection and structural guidelines. NHTSA has established Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards governing the manufacture of school buses and guidelines for school bus safety. Once these guidelines have been incorporated as state law or regulation, a state then can strengthen the federal standards.

A major controversy surrounding school bus travel is occupant protection on the buses. Currently, school buses are equipped with compartmentalized seats, which provide crash protection through protective pockets consisting of strong, closely spaced seats with energy-absorbing seat backs. In an effort to further protect children, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York have passed laws requiring the installation of seat belts on school buses. To ensure that school bus drivers receive adequate training, some states have passed laws that strengthen school bus driver training and licensing requirements.

Most children killed in school bus crashes are pedestrians. These crashes usually occur when the students are getting on or off the school bus. The area surrounding the school bus is extremely dangerous, since passing motorists frequently do not obey the stop arm and illegally pass the school bus. Many states have passed laws that enhance penalties for illegally passing a school bus.

Another traffic safety issue facing children is alcohol-related crashes. More than 500 children are killed each year in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes. In most cases, the children were riding in a vehicle operated by a drunk driver. To combat this problem, at least 27 states have passed laws to protect children and punish those drunk drivers who put them at risk.

Once children reach the teenage years, child passenger protection might not be considered an issue. Fatalities run high, however, among teen drivers and passengers. In an effort to save teen lives, many states have implemented some form of graduated licensing laws. Under these laws, teens receive their licenses gradually after they gain driving experience and, in some cases, take a driver's education course. Other states have gone a step further to place additional restrictions-such as restricting the number of passengers and establishing nighttime driving curfews-on teen drivers.

State legislatures, safety organizations, community groups, law enforcement officials and parents play an important role in reducing childhood deaths and injuries associated with motor vehicle crashes. State legislative efforts not only have helped increase seat belt and child safety seat use but also have reduced the number of child passengers riding in pickup truck beds. The legislative efforts also have helped reduce the number of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes and have helped keep school bus travel one of the safest modes of transportation. The above efforts are only a few of the ways state legislators have worked to improve traffic safety for children. Suggested improvements to traffic safety are continually raised, and state legislators will continue to pass new laws, strengthen existing laws, and educate the public about how to keep their children safe.

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