August 2019 Newsletter

This month's news includes articles on bicycle/pedestrian funding, back-to-school, car seat LATCH ease-of-use, falls, odds of dying from various causes, and more.

We also have some new offerings, including t-shirts giving love to Child Passenger Safety Technicians and other designs that are all about walking and rolling.

The happenings and reports in this month’s newsletter are solid reminders of how important the work that you do is, so thank you for your time and energy!

Stay safe and see you in the fall,

-Jamie, Wendy, and the I'm Safe Team. 

Progress on Child Passenger Safety and Bicycle Helmet laws ... Forty-nine states now require booster seats (or other appropriate devices) for children who have outgrown their car seats but are too small for the adult seat belts, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Eleven states require children under age two to ride in a rear-facing car seat (including New York as of 11/1/19). While 21 states have helmet laws for bicycle riders under a certain age, there are still 29 states that have no bicycle helmet laws. To see how your state is doing, click here for child passenger safety and here for bicycle helmet laws. 

Ease-of-use ratings improve for child restraint LATCH systems ... The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that nearly 75% of 2019 vehicles have LATCH ease-of-use ratings that are 'good' or 'acceptable,' making it easier for parents and caregivers to properly install child restraints. LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. Read more here.

Congratulations to the Safe Routes Partnership and The League of American Bicyclists on building support for bipartisan transportation legislation that will both make a difference and make it through Capitol Hill. The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee unveiled its transportation bill at the end of July which includes 40% more funding in its first year for Transportation Alternatives, which includes Safe Routes to School and bicycling and walking projects. For more details, visit the Safe Routes Partnership Resources blog or "News from the League."

Back-to-School stress ... A recent study found that the majority of parents (57%) find the back-to-school season to be the most stressful part of their year.  It won’t solve all their worries, but this Back-To-School Transportation Safety page should offer some relief and includes a Back to School Safety Checklist from the National Safety Council.

How do the odds of dying from preventable injuries compare to the risks of dying from heart disease or cancer? The National Safety Council's "Odds of Dying" report reveals that some of the things we are afraid of are a lot less likely to kill us than the things we don’t worry about. You can read the NSC's public opinion poll about eliminating preventable deaths here. (Shark Attacks didn't make the cut in the “Odds of Dying” report, even though that’s what comes to mind for 33% of people when they think of accidental death.)

More people have died in car crashes since 2000 than in both World Wars, so ... “Where’s the social outrage?”  Robert L. Sumwalt, chairman of the NTSB, wants to know. He’s not alone. So many of these deaths were caused by either distracted driving, speeding, drunk driving (or some combination), all of which are acts of recklessness or arrogance. There are too many innocent victims of “it can’t happen to me” syndrome and Harvard T.H. Chan School’s Center for Health Communication has a campaign in the works. While most people believe distracted driving is a problem, the key is to create a stigma around being the individual who is doing it.

Bike riding by children has declined by roughly one million riders in four years ... due in part to safety concerns. Will autonomous vehicles (AVs) help bring them back? It’s an interesting theory.  A new study found that it's not just children who are at risk from careless drivers.  Women bicyclists are 75% more likely to have other vehicles encroach on their space than men are. Given that fewer women ride bicycles than men, "these findings may help explain why the cycling 'gender gap' drops in places that have strong, protected bike infrastructure."

Child Passenger Safety Week is September 15-21 with National Seat Check Saturday on 9/21. Do you know someone who would be a great Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST)? Have you thought about becoming a CPST, if you aren't already? Take a look at what it involves and the reward of knowing you are saving lives.

Fatal falls have nearly tripled in older Americans ... because so many people are living longer independently, and living with chronic conditions. Studies across many European countries are showing similar results. According to a recent study from the University of Iowa, Americans at every age are about as physically active today as they were 10 years ago and also inclined to sit more. " Studies continue to show that sitting, independent of physical activity, can be a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases."