The Chicago City Council on Wednesday will consider a proposal aimed at getting parents expert help when it comes to wrestling the alligator that is a child car safety seat.
An estimated 83.9 percent of child car seats are not installed correctly, potentially exposing children to serious risk.
"The scary part about that is when parents are polled, 96 percent of parents think their car seat is in correctly," according to Steve Breden, a certified child passenger safety technician.
Those numbers inspired Ald. James Balcer (11th) to introduce an ordinance that would require any retailer selling child car seats to post an informational flyer with 20 feet of the car seat that is for sale. The flyer would provide parents with a phone number and a website where they can access a certified child passenger safety technician who can install a seat or answer questions about the process.
He said the legislation, which passed through subcommittee last week, would save frustration and lives.
"One thousand children are dying each year [and ]184,000 are injured. I felt something had to be done," he said.
But the measure is opposed by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which said the idea would put stores on a slippery slope.
"The concern we have is that somehow the responsibility for educating consumers on the proper way to install a car seat has fallen on the retailers," said IRMA Senior Counsel Tanya Triche. "So you can imagine a certain percentage of our store being taken up with 'educational' sort of signs. So that's an issue for us."
Balcer took IRMA to task upon hearing the comments.
"Shame on them. It's a slippery slope. Fine, let it keep sliding. Whatever it takes to save the lives of children, to prevent children from being injured -- I'm all for that," he said.
I was a customer of yours and hired you to show me how to install our original infant seat. Your service is invaluable, and I have recommended you to many other people. I am also aware that many cities and towns have safety police officers who also provide a similar service at no charge to residents, but where I live that was not an option for us.
Where I feel people need to be more informed as to what it means to safely transport their children, I do not support this law. I agree with the retailers association as it is a slippery slope, and that it will lead to increased liability on retailers for many, many other products they sell, outside of childrens products, and will make for a legal mess. There is more than enough warnings on infant and toddler seats as to their safe installation, and some responsibility needs to be put on the parents for ensuring these products are used properly.
There's a larger issue here that will not be simple to address - the sheer volume of accidents reported here, plus the countless others that are surely not reported as well as the poorly installed seats that are lucky their parents are not in an accident! As much as the LATCH system was an improvement for installing this equipment, the time has come for better seat products. This is where the government could better spend its resources than forcing signs into a retailer that may be ignored in the mire of all the other visual stimuli in a store.
There has to be a better way, and a sign is not going to do it.
Posted by: Anonymous | June 09, 2010 at 01:28 PM
Helpful post. I especially found it useful where you stated that consumers or parents should be properly educated how to install car seats especially to avoids accidents among babies and kids.. thanks, Janelle.
Posted by: Janelle Benson | July 30, 2010 at 10:26 AM