Child Seats

Arkansas has one of the highest rates of childhood death in the nation with 33 deaths per 100,000 as compared to the national average of 26 deaths per 100,000. From 1995 to 2000, there were 297 traffic fatalities involving children under 16 years old. In addition to this human toll, traffic crashes cost Arkansans $2.6 billion a year, including an estimated $272 million in medical costs.

Children who ride unrestrained are at greater risk for injury or death in the event of a crash. In 2000, there were 40 traffic fatalities (motor vehicle occupants) involving children under the age of 16; of these, 26 were not restrained. Moreover in 2000, restraint use was lower in rural areas (45 percent) than in urban areas (50.2 percent). In Arkansas, a predominantly rural state, an estimated 35 percent of parents do not have age-appropriate car safety seats for their children, either because they cannot afford one or because they do not realize the importance of safety seats.

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