The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety evaluated minivans in side and front impact crash tests. The Toyota Sienna, Nissan Quest, and Honda Odyssey earned a rating of “good” (the highest possible) in side impact tests. The Sienna and Quest earned “best pick” designations for side crashes and the Sienna also won a “best pick” designation for front impacts. Compared to the federal side impact tests, the IIHS tests used a barrier more comparable to today’s average vehicle to simulate a crash.
Federal test doesn’t reflect many real-world crashes: The federal government also conducts side impact tests for consumer information but uses a barrier that was designed in the 1980s when cars represented most vehicles on the road. The height of the barrier’s front end is below the heads of the dummies that measure injury risks in side-struck vehicles. The federal test doesn’t assess the risks of head injury from impacts with vehicles like SUVs and pickups.
IIHS News Release: November 2, 2005
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Illinois state police have introduced “CHAD” or “Children Have An Identity” stickers which fit on a child safety seat or under a bicycle seat after a 13-month old boy named Chad was involved in an auto accident with his babysitter. The babysitter was killed in the crash and the boy could not be quickly identified. His injuries were untreated for an hour until a family friend happened to walk by his hospital gurney.
The stickers give basic identification and emergency contact information and can also give important information such as allergies to medications.
The Southern Illinoisan
Illinois State Trooper J. D. Murphy said an identification tool promoted by state police is a CHAD - Children Have An Identity - sticker. The stickers are meant to put on the back of a child safety seat, but also fit underneath a bicycle seat and are appropriate for adults as well.
“Unfortunately, we get a lot of our innovative ideas when something bad happens,” Murphy said.
The CHAD stickers were introduced after a boy named Chad was involved in a vehicle accident with a babysitter and could not be immediately identified.
More information on identification and emergency contact programs at this site.
NADA Auto Dealers are holding child safety seat inspections throughout September, as
part of Child Passenger Safety Month. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says that more than 40,000 children under the age of four and 50,000 between the ages of four and eight are injured or killed in car crashes each year. 40% of those who die or are seriously injured are completely unrestrained.
radKIDS is a program is a safety program to help children protect themselves against violence that goes way beyond the trite and practically useless “don’t talk to strangers” strategy. One graduate of the program, Candy, managed to escape an attacker by fighting her way free. Attackers rely on kids to cooperate simply because they are adults.
radKIDS: Children’s Safety Education
The radKIDS Program is providing children with hope, options, and practical skills to RECOGNIZE, AVOID, and, if necessary, ESCAPE violence and abuse.
The radKIDS program teaches many topics including:
- Safety in the home and vehicle safety
- School safety, including bullying
- “Out-and-about safety,” including water- and pedestrian-safety education
- Realistic defense against abduction
- Good, bad and uncomfortable touch
- Stranger Tricks, including physical defense against abduction
- Self-realization of personal power
