NEWS RELEASE

Reminder: Children Under 13 in the Backseat

The Washington State Patrol distributed this joint news release.

April 10 , 2009

Olympia, WA — Police agencies including the Washington State Patrol (WSP) are reporting that some parents are continuing to let children under the age of 13 ride in the front seats of vehicles. Washington’s Child Restraint Law requires those under 13 to be in the back seat whenever practical.

“There’s been great discussion about the types of seats and their proper use,” said WSP Chief John R. Batiste. “Getting kids completely out of the front seat is equally important.”

Front seats are more dangerous for youngsters because of the potential for air bag deployment in a collision.

“Air bags go off with a lot of force,” said Lowell Porter, Executive Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “They have saved thousands of lives but can present dangers if use improperly, especially with small children.”

Even in older vehicles without air bags, history has proven that children are safer in the back seat. All other factors being equal (e.g. age, gender, actual seating position, collision severity, etc.), rear-seat occupants are about 25% less likely to die in crashes than front-seat occupants.

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children in Washington. Car seats and booster seats have a proven track record of saving lives. Over 40 percent of children killed in crashes were unrestrained.