SRN’s Denise Donaldson attended the School Transportation News (STN) Expo in Reno, July 24-28.  The following is her report from the conference.
  Child restraint use on school buses is recognized as a best practice necessity nowadays due to the transportation of children with special needs and also, where programs exist, the infants of teen moms.  Additionally, the law requires children in Head Start programs to ride in an appropriate CR. 
  Because of this, there is a great need to bring people from the school transportation and CPS industries together to share knowledge toward creating safer riding conditions for these students.  The STN Expo proved to be an excellent way for a CPST such as myself to get involved. 
Sample article from SRN Newsletter July/August 2010

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A look back at the milestones in development of FMVSS 213 and other related standards
  When FMVSS 213 was amended 30 years ago to require, as of January 1, 1981, dynamic testing and inclusion of all CRs for children under 50 pounds, it established the basic elements of the standard we use today.  Here is a brief history of some of the significant milestones and substantial improvements to FMVSS 213 and other related standards.
Sample article from SRN Newsletter July/August 2010

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  A final-draft report, “Recommendations for the Safe Transportation of Children in Ground Ambulances,” was issued in July by NHTSA.  For the first time a series of best practice scenarios were presented to cover common situations, such as a child requiring medical interventions during transport and an uninjured child accompanying a injured or ill adult in an ambulance. In order to be practicable, the scenarios include the ideal method and the suggestions if the ideal cannot be met.
Sample article from SRN Newsletter July/August 2010

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  On Monday, June 28, Mary Anderson (Eaton, Ohio), managing editor of the Tech Update and Safe Ride News Publications 2009 LATCH Manual, lost her courageous battle with acute leukemia.
  Every day, as we go about our work, we think of Mary and how much she did for CPS and for all of us at Safe Ride News Publications. In the two years she has worked with us, we came to count on her schedules and gentle reminders to keep us on track, her late night e-mails, and her creative ideas of what CPSTs and parents need from us. She insisted on working on Tech Update until the last month of her illness, because she said continuing her CPS work helped keep her going.
  Mary never missed an opportunity to share her knowledge or teach what she knew. She was dedicated to educating CPS technicians and also worked tirelessly to keep parents and caregivers informed. Mary even took her LATCH Manual and her Blackberry with her when she was first admitted into the hospital in January to begin treatment. That was so like her; always ready to give more that what was asked of her.
  Mary impressed everyone who knew her with her passion for helping people, her innovative ways of helping fill the information needs of the child passenger safety community as seen from her grass-roots perspective, and her willingness to push herself to accomplish all she’d set out to do and more. All of us at Safe Ride News will greatly miss Mary. SRN is such a small company that working here is like working with family. Losing this important member of our team has been like losing a family member, but her legacy will continue in what we do at Safe Ride News Publications.
                                                                                        —Deborah, Denise, Nan, 
                                                                                            Katrina and Nancy L.
Address for cards: Anderson family,
50 England Drive, Eaton OH, 45320

 

8th Revised Edition – Created by: Shelness Productions
in association with The University of Michigan Child Passenger Protection Research Program
This is the most comprehensive, up-to-date child passenger safety video available that covers selection and correct use of child safety seats. 

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At this time there seems to be less concrete evidence and agreement about how attachment with LATCH impacts BPB performance in a crash.  Should a BPB stay firmly in place or should it be free to move with the occupant in a crash – or does it really make a difference?  We are currently hearing opposing answers to these questions among manufacturers.

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A new NHTSA study, “Children Injured in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes,” analyzes the frequency of incapacitating crash injuries to children, as well as the most common types of injuries that occur. The research looks at children in three groups:  under age 1, ages 1 to 3, and ages 4 to 7. The real-world data verify that significant injury is far more common among unrestrained children and in certain types of crashes, and that child restraints reduce the likelihood of incapacitating injury for all three age groups. The head was the most common region of injury for all children, but the type of head injury varied by age group, as did types of serious injury to other body regions.

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One of the many benefits of attending a national conference like Lifesavers is the opportunity to hear leading policymakers communicate what they perceive to be our top safety priorities . . . I noticed one important fact: CPS was missing from the discussion.

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Dorel Makes 5- to 35-Pound Version of onBoard
CPSTs should note that the Dorel Safety 1st onBoard infant seat, often recommended for its 4-pound starting weight, now has a version that starts at 5 pounds.  Though the name is the same, the CR has some variations from versions that start at 4 pounds, including visible differences in the padding and the base.  The price is also significantly lower for this version.
A case for checking labels — onBoard models and weights: 

Model #	Start Weight lbs.	End Weight lbs.
IC009	4	35
22077	4	22
22078	4	35
22375	5	35
22395 "Air Infant"	4	35

For the complete Spring Product Update, see the March/April issue of Safe Ride News.

 

“We are planning a big cross-country tour this summer and figure it would make sense to rent an RV for this adventure . . .”
Often, even parents who normally are careful to use a CR for their children for every ride imagine that the interior of a recreational vehicle (RV, or motor home) is somehow a magical zone where the laws of physics do not apply.  Caregivers need to know that an RV may not be safe for children.  Children still need to be buckled up appropriately any time they are riding in a vehicle, and this can be a real challenge in an RV.  RVs come in a range of style classes (A, B, C, C+, etc.) and, although these do vary in appropriateness for families, none is ideal.

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Transport Canada recently updated its website to include the findings of CR crash test research it conducted between 2003 and 2009.  Included along with the research description and findings are many crash test video clips. The videos depict a wide range of CR models and dummy sizes crashed in a variety of vehicle models.  Tests were done for both LATCH (UAS, or Universal Anchorage System, in Canada) and seat belt installations, with and without tethers.

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The Center for Auto Safety and other petitioners are petitioning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate rulemaking for the purpose of amending FMVSS 222 to protect children from death and injury in school bus crashes. This petition seeks action by NHTSA to promptly mandate the three-point-belt requirement for all seating positions on all school buses.

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Each year, over 200 infants nationwide need a large car bed to ride safely to and from their medical appointments and other places, yet they have been marooned by the lack of a specialty device that can fit them. Today, there is hope for developing a car bed that will fit larger infants. A new, small manufacturer, Hope Special Needs Products, LLC, has committed to take on the project, but it must seek financial support to finish development and testing.
For the complete Table of Contents of the Jan/Feb SRN Newsletter click here

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A recent report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the belt fit of many booster models.  A booster should route the lap belt flat across a child’s upper thighs, position the shoulder belt at mid-shoulder, and consistently fit this way in a variety of vehicles. The IIHS has revised its evaluation system since its prior report from 2008.
For the complete Table of Contents of the Jan/Feb SRN Newsletter click here

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Question: Why do some vehicle manuals warn that nothing should press against the back of the front passenger seat or be placed under that seat?  

Short answer: Pressure on the seatback may cause a false reading by the sensors that regulate the passenger-side advanced air bag (AAB), possibly causing either the AAB to deploy when it is not needed or to be suppressed when it is needed.
For the complete Table of Contents of the Jan/Feb SRN Newsletter click here

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     Economist Steven Levitt and author Stephen Dubner teamed up to analyze and challenge a variety of economic beliefs and practices, including a cost-to-value comparison of add-on CRs versus seat belts. Their 2005 book, Freakonomics, raised many questions.
For the complete Table of Contents of the Nov/Dec SRN Newsletter click here

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     A new analysis of Partners for CPS (PCPS) data reaffirms that boosters are an important step in providing protection to child passengers. The research input was more complete than previously published studies, and the results still prove that belt-positioning booster (BPB) use is more protective than seat belts alone.
For the complete Table of Contents of the Nov/Dec SRN Newsletter click here

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     At the Seattle Auto Show we imagined how families would fare installing multiple CRs in the MY 2010 models. In general, we found dual trends that are at odds for families: the seating space inside vehicles tends to be shrinking, while newer CR designs with higher weight limits tend to be taller and wider.
For the complete Table of Contents of the Nov/Dec SRN Newsletter click here

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Planning a CPST Update Class or CPS Conference?  Hooked on LATCH is 2 Ready-to-go PowerPoint presentations, from Safe Ride News.  Prepared by CPST-Instructors, both pre-approved for CEUs.  Can be presented by CPST-Instructors and seasoned CPSTs.  Includes many photos, extensive presenter notes, suggestions for class participation, printable participant handouts and printable participant CEU forms.  Click here to order your copy now!

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On May 18, 2009 Janette E. Fennell, Founder and President of KidsAndCars.org, testified at the “Auto Safety: Existing Mandates and Emerging Issues” hearing before theSubcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  This is the complete text of the testimony she gave.

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A new, radically redesigned lower connector system, called SuperLATCH (SL), is a major improvement to Sunshine Kids’ Radian line of CRs.  This innovation marks an important step in how CRs are designed and may even represent a crossroads regarding LATCH use. 
For the complete Table of Contents of the Sep/Oct SRN Newsletter click here

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Safe Ride News now provides a nationwide listing service of opportunities for CPSTs and others to take the Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses National Training. At this time, classes are scheduled in Louisville, KY; Houston, TX; Orlando, FL; and Reno, NV. Click here for the complete list.

 

To provide maximum protection for children in booster seats, it is important that parents/caregivers find a booster that fits their child and their vehicles (see the Boosters to Fit article in the Fall 2009 Tech Update newsletter).  The Booster Measurement list gives manufacturer-provided measurements for product comparison. 

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At the time of publication, it appears that the 2009 legislative session is among the best yet for protecting people in motor vehicles. Four more seat belt laws now can be enforced as a primary offense, while no primary laws passed in the prior year. Six states improved their child restraint laws, the same as in 2008.
For the complete Table of Contents of the July/August SRN Newsletter click here

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The Not-In-Traffic Surveillance System (NiTS) is a virtual database that tracks incidents of vehicular death and injury on private property. Prior to the establishment of NiTS, the federal government only kept statistics for crashes that occurred in traffic on public roads, streets, and highways, which neglected incidents that occurred in moving or parked vehicles on private property, such as private roads, driveways, and parking lots. In its first year of data, 2007, the system estimated that there were 262 child fatalities and approximately 115,000 injuries related to not-in-traffic incidents.
For the complete Table of Contents of the July/August SRN Newsletter click here

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There is a brand new listserv, CPS for School Buses, that will provide the same kind of exchange of ideas found on the CPS listserv, only specific to pupil transportation issues. Sign up at: CPSforSchoolBuses-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  This listserv will be moderated by Denise Donaldson of Safe Ride News.

Why the need for this list? A surprising number of passengers on school buses should ride in a child safety restraint system, either because they are too young/small to benefit from compartmentalization or because of special transportation needs. People in all areas of this field, from manufacturers to transportation managers to drivers, will benefit from this way to find support from others working toward the same goals. We hope this listserv will work hand-in-hand with our newest publication, The School Bus Safety Handbook, and with the NHTSA School Bus CSRS Training to provide a robust set of resources for professionals in this field.

We ask for your help in spreading the word that people can now sign up for this new list. This field greatly benefits from the insights of CPSTs in the conversation, so we strongly encourage all CPSTs with an interest in pupil transportation and a willingness to share constructive input to sign up.

 

This new, user-friendly handbook serves as a background, reference, and resource guide for school district personnel, child passenger safety technicians, and special needs transportation specialists. It includes considerations for selecting safety restraints for use in different types of school buses, how-to details, and current product information.

The School Bus Safety Handbook is geared to support the NHTSA training course: Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses. It has been prepared in consultation with national school bus experts.

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    Guest Editorial: Joseph M. Colella
    Misunderstanding the toll of crash forces on CRs, along with more attention to family financial burdens, has increased discussion of whether or not a CR can continue to be used after a minor crash or when the CR was unoccupied during the crash.  Frankly, I am surprised by how many CPSTs turn to the advice from NHTSA or other outside sources, dismissing the warnings and requirements of each specific CR manufacturer.  When parents are advised in a way that overrules the CR manufacturer, everyone involved is put at risk.

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   Over the past thirty years, the rate of obesity has doubled for children ages 2-5 and 12-15, and tripled for kids ages 6-11. Kim Hermann, Safe Kids USA, discussed how obesity presents challenges for child passengers at the Lifesavers Conference in April. 
    Obesity in children is not specific to gender or socioeconomic group.  Aside from the many other health concerns related to this trend, there are serious implications for CPS.  A study published in the December 2008 Injury Prevention found that obese children had a 2 ½ times greater risk of injury in a crash than children of normal weight.

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 In two tragic recent cases, a 5-year-old Maryland boy died in December and a 13-year-old Texas boy died last October, both strangled by their shoulder belts. They are the latest of a string of incidents that first came to light in 2005, where children have wrapped a shoulder belt around their necks in play or curiosity without realizing that the belt’s switchable retractor had been activated.

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     A new clinical report on safe transportation of preterm and low birth weight infants, with lead authors Marilyn Bull, MD and William Engle, MD has just been released. It is AAP policy and replaces the 1996 policy statement on the same topic. The report is available online. http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/pediatrics;123/5/1424?rss=1

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