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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Gap remains in rural seat belt use by children in Iowa
Jan. 30, 2015 8:30 pm
Children from smaller, rural Iowa communities continue to lag behind in the use of proper safety restraints in vehicles, according to a recent study by the University of Iowa's Injury Prevention Research Center.
Children aged 0 to 17 in communities with populations of 1,000 to 2,500 were properly restrained 88 percent of the time, and in 10 percent of the cases they were not restrained at all, according to the Child Passenger Safety Survey Project.
Restraint rates increased for each larger tier in community size up to 93 percent for cities of 50,000 people or more, according to the survey completed in late 2014.
'(One) clear message is, look at the smallest communities,” said deputy director of the center, John Lundell, who is also Coralville's mayor. "It's always true that small, rural towns have lower rates of restrainment."
Lundell said while no scientific evidence exists, he has a few theories why people may be more cavalier in rural areas. They are less likely to encounter a deputy, there's a perception of not as many cars on the road - although speeds are typically much higher than urban areas - and there may be a cultural acceptance of not wearing seat belts, he said.
The study included observations of 3,050 children from 36 communities around Iowa.
Overall, the study showed that proper passenger restraints among children are increasing, particularly for the youngest children. Infants through 2 year olds were properly restrained at a 99.6 percent rate, according to the study.
When the survey first began in 1996, it focused on those aged 6 and younger. At that time, only 69 percent of children were properly restrained, according to the 1996 survey.
Lundell said better education and Iowa's efforts to strengthen laws pertaining to child vehicle safety have helped.
In recent years, Iowa has required all children through the age of 17 to be belted, no matter where they are seated in the car, and children aged 2-5 must be in a booster seat, he said.
"The message is finally getting out," he said.
Lundell said in 2004-08, Iowa saw about 20 children a year killed in car accidents, compared to 11 from 2009-13. While weather, better roads and safer cars all factor in, Lundell said he believes improved child restraint habits have also helped.
He said more can be done, such as further increasing the age of children required to be in booster seats to 8 or 9.
Another study, released in late 2014 by the Iowa State University and the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau, determined seat belt use for all ages in Iowa increased to 92.8 percent, up from 91.8 percent in 2013. According to GTSB, the 7 percent non-seatbelt user make up 46 percent of Iowa's traffic fatalities.
Iowa's child safety laws:
' A child under 1 year old and weighing less than 20 lbs. must be secured in a rear-facing child restraint system
' A child age 1 up to 6 years old must be secured in a child restraint system (a safety seat or booster seat - NOT a seat belt)
' A child from age 6 up to age 11 must be secured in a child restraint system or by a safety belt
' Rear seat occupants up to age 18 must be secured by a safety belt
Source: Iowa Department of Public Safety