Child Restraint Workshop Series. Volume 1

Orr, Beverly T.; Desper, Linda P.; Council, Forrest M. · 1979 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report documents the planning and implementation of the Child Restraint Workshop Series, a project conducted by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The initiative was motivated by the high mortality rate of children aged one to four in motor vehicle accidents, which was identified as the leading cause of death for this demographic in 1977. Despite evidence that properly used child restraints reduce fatal injury risk by 70–90 percent, usage rates remained below 10 percent. NHTSA sought to address this gap by improving the effectiveness of grassroots organizations, initiating coordination efforts within states, and expanding the network of groups involved in child passenger safety. The methodology involved conducting ten two-day workshops across all NHTSA regions between March and June 1979. A planning committee comprising leaders from grassroots organizations helped design the agenda. The participant selection strategy aimed for a diverse mix of approximately 35 attendees per workshop, including medical professionals, public health officials, service organizations, legislators, law enforcement, and highway safety administrators. This approach intentionally included consumer groups and health professionals outside the traditional state safety agency bureaucracy to foster new networks. Participants received extensive materials, including program descriptions, legislative updates, resource lists, and a film titled "Don't Risk Your Child's Life." The workshops featured lectures, breakout sessions for state-specific networking, and demonstrations of child restraints and airbags. The report details the logistical challenges and outcomes of the series. Scheduling conflicts and hotel availability in large cities posed significant difficulties, particularly after NHTSA requested an accelerated timeline to avoid summer vacation periods. Despite these hurdles, 619 invitations were extended, and approximately 354 persons attended the workshops. The interactive format was designed to allow participants to share information on effective approaches and identify local resources. The distribution of the PAS film was noted as a particularly successful component, generating enthusiasm among attendees who intended to use it in their local programs. The report also highlights that the novel participant selection process, while sometimes causing friction with state highway safety programs accustomed to controlling nominations, successfully created new lines of communication between disparate groups. The significance of this work lies in its contribution to the coordination of child restraint efforts across the United States. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, the workshops established a foundation for state, regional, and national networks of information exchange. The report provides recommendations to NHTSA based on the successes and problems encountered, emphasizing the need for clear communication regarding participant selection criteria and the logistical difficulties of securing affordable venues in major cities. The series served as a mechanism to equip grassroots organizations with technical information and promotional materials, thereby enhancing their capacity to promote child restraint usage effectively.

Key finding

The workshop series successfully coordinated grassroots organizations and provided them with technical resources and educational materials to enhance child restraint usage programs across ten NHTSA regions.

Methodology

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Topics

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• child passenger safety
• seat belt use

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation