Safety Devices Play Key Role in Reducing Preventable Injuries to Kids

The unintentional injury death rate for children declines over the past two decades.

According to a report by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign, Washington, DC, safety devices such as smoke alarms, car seats and bike helmets have contributed to a 46 percent decline in the unintentional injury-related death rate among children ages 14 and under. As a result of better engineering, widespread education and improving safety devices over the past 20 years, children are better protected from preventable injury. The report chronicles important milestones in the evolution of safety devices such as their introduction into the market, the passage of landmark safety legislation, increased affordability and usage, and important innovations in materials such as plastics. "Of all the dangers children face today, parents need to focus on the one that is not only the largest killer of kids, but the one they can do something about—unintentional injury," said Heather Paul, Ph.D., executive director of the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. "The most effective proven intervention to protecting kids is the use of these safety devices. Safety device distribution and education have always been a core part of our mission, and it's gratifying to see injury death rates have declined as a result." AMONG THE REPORT'S FINDINGS   Over the past two decades, the residential fire-related death rate has declined 55 percent among children. Studies have shown that a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a residential fire in half. Smoke alarms in the early 1960s were metal devices that were prohibitively expensive at $120 each and not readily available to the public. Today, smoke alarms cost as little as $10 and are purchased at retail outlets in every community.   While vehicle usage and miles traveled have soared over the past 18 years, the motor vehicle occupant-related death rate has declined by 10 percent among children. Car seats manufactured in the early 1970s provided comfort for kids riding in cars, but, ironically, offered little or no protection. Today, crash test standards exist that all car seats must meet. Correctly used, car seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent for infants.   Bike helmets are 88 percent effective in reducing the risk of brain injury and have contributed to a 60 percent decline in the death rate from bike-traffic injuries among children in the past two decades. Bike helmets were once merely a hairnet used only by professional racers. Now, bike helmets are made from protective polystyrene and fiberglass to absorb forces on impact and are used by both adults and children. In addition, 16 states now have bike helmet laws. TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES SAFETY DEVICE USE While many factors have contributed to a decline in unintentional injury death rates, safety device usage, which has been greatly impacted by advances in technology, has clearly made a difference. Materials such as fiberglass, nylon and polystyrene have helped to make safety devices more accessible to the public by making them lighter, more affordable and more convenient to use. "When you see the SAFE KIDS statistics, you realize that injuries happen a lot more than you think—and they are preventable," said Ron Yocum, president and CEO, American Plastics Council. "As a grandfather, I marvel at the devices we never had when we were raising our kids. Just in the past 25 years we've seen tremendous advancements in the plastics technology that benefit children. We're confident that the role plastics play to improve safety devices will continue into the new millennium." Despite modern advances, unintentional injury remains the No. 1 killer of children. However, new technologies, together with education and legislation, will continue to evolve as the public increasingly regards family safety as a high priority. The National SAFE KIDS Campaign is the only national organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury—the No. 1 killer of children ages 14 and under. More than 275 state and local SAFE KIDS Coalitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico comprise the campaign. Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D., is chairman of the campaign and Vice President Al Gore and Tipper Gore are honorary chairs. The National SAFE KIDS Campaign can be contacted at: 1301 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20004-1707 (202) 662-0600 Fax: (202) 393-2072 www.safekids.org