News

Author: Katrina

Safe Sleep (and CRs) Back in the News

Although it’s apparent from this image of an inclined sleeper that these devices are very different from CRs, CPSTs should know about the rules governing sleep-related products for children and provide safe sleep guidance to caregivers.

The topic of safe sleep has been in regulatory and legal news lately as the risk of infant death in products called “inclined sleepers” has begun to spur action (see box below). Inclined sleepers are portable sleep devices that put a baby’s back at an angle of up to about 30 degrees. Over the past 15 or so years, these devices have been linked to infant airway obstruction (from head flopping) or suffocation (from rolling into the padding or partially out of the device). These incidents have led to dozens of infant deaths, with 74 reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2019 alone. Read More from “Safe Sleep (and CRs) Back in the News”

Heatstroke: 100% Preventable! These resources can help save a life.

Mere days before National Heatstroke Prevention Day on May 1, a 5-month-old baby girl in North Carolina was this year’s first victim of vehicular heatstroke. SRN reminds readers that heatstroke death is 100% preventable!  Please utilize the extensive resources that exist to educate caregivers on this topic

Heatstroke Prevention Resources

Find free resources and information from the following sources:

Heatstroke Prevention Online Training

The National Safety Council (NSC) offers an online training module called “Children in Hot Cars.” This interactive training uses graphics, audio, and video to teach three main topics related to child heatstroke dangers:

  • Why do cars heat up?
  • How do children die in hot cars?
  • What can YOU do?

The learner can progress at his or her own pace, following links to supporting studies, lists, and information found at the NSC site and others, such as noheatstroke.org and CDC.gov. Although the learner may opt to linger over an array of helpful links, the basic module takes only about 10 minutes to complete.

The training offers many practical tips to prevent heatstroke deaths and is suitable for any audience: CPSTs, caregivers, or any other member of the public.

Go to www.nsc.org and search “kids in hot cars” or click here to find the module. A certificate of completion is provided at the end of the training.

Heatstroke Prevention Bill

To learn about a bill, reintroduced to Congress in May 2021, that would require new vehicles to have built-in technology to remind people when a child has been left inside, click here. This site offers many other resources, including descriptions of the latest child-detection technology for vehicles and guidance for those who’d like to write to their legislator in support of the act.

Speeding a Trending Risk to Teens

GHSA Report: Speeding a Trending Risk to Teens

An analysis of recent crash data by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has found that speeding is a factor in an outsized proportion of teen crash fatalities. In fact, from 2015 to 2019, speed was a factor in the deaths of more drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 years of age (43%) than for all other age groups (average 30%). Read More from “Speeding a Trending Risk to Teens”

Special Needs Transportation Q&A

For children with conditions that make it unsafe or impossible to use a conventional CR, models made to meet special needs exist. For example, two types of options for children in casts are shown.

The Q&A format for this article was drawn from a conference webinar held in November, during which Barbara DiGirolamo of Boston Children’s Hospital reviewed the types of situations that arise when transporting children with special needs, as well as the CRs that are available to ensure these children continue to ride safely.  DiGirolamo, a CPST-I and STAC (Safe Travel for All Children)-certified instructor, draws from her experience fitting children with a variety of special needs with suitable CR systems. Read More from “Special Needs Transportation Q&A”

Teens’ Vehicles Elevate Their Relative Risk

Vehicle Choice a More Serious Risk Factor for Teens Than for Other Drivers

Many of the studies on teen drivers, as well as policies and laws aimed at limiting various teen driving privileges, focus on characteristics of the teens themselves that are known to influence their safety in vehicles.  However, the crashworthiness and crash-avoidance features of a vehicle are also important considerations for occupants of any age, and recent research shows that teens, as a group, tend to be at a disadvantage when it comes to benefiting from today’s safety features.

Read More from “Teens’ Vehicles Elevate Their Relative Risk”

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