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Trauma Prevention Legislative Issues Child Passenger Safety (CPS) After seven years of introducing traffic safety bills to the legislature, Minnesota (MN) claimed great victory this spring with the passage of both the primary seat belt and booster seat laws. To help bring more awareness to the need to upgrade the child passenger safety (CPS) law, Dr. Andrew Kiragu HCMC Pediatrics and Julie Philbrook, RN HCMC Trauma Services worked with a family of Brynn Duncan, a 7 year old child who was paralyzed by her lap belt during a crash in August 2008. Brynn also sustained severe internal injuries and was treated by Dr. Kiragu for close to two months while she was a patient at Hennepin County Medical Center. Brynn and her sisters rallied their school friends and others in their community in northern Minnesota with a letter writing campaign to legislators. Her family also drove over three hours to the State Capital three times during the session to tell how a booster seat could have made a difference in her outcome. As a result, on July 1, 2009 the CPS law in MN will raise the age for needing child restraints from 4 years old to age 8. In June 2009, the Duncan family was honored by the MN chapter of the America Academy of Pediatrics with their 2009 Child Advocacy Award. Link here for more on the benefits of boosters Link here to MN current law for child passengers Link here to a listing of other states' CPS Laws
Upgrades to Minnesota’s seat belt use law became effective June 9, 2009. New provisions require everybody of all ages in every seating position in the vehicle to be buckled up or riding in an approved child passenger safety restraint. Also, law enforcement officers will now be able to stop and cite drivers and passengers who are not buckled up. The fine for a seat belt use violation remains the same as in the past — $25 — but with surcharges can reach more than $100.
Traffic crashes are the leading killer of Minnesota teens. To minimize risks of injury or death, new laws limiting teen passengers and nighttime driving will help teens hone driving skills during the first year of licensure and reduce exposure to high-risk situations. In addition to the GDL law Minnesota bans cell phone while driving for all minors and texting while driving for all drivers.
Click here for GDL research and recommendations
Documented evidence of photo enforcement's safety benefits has been recorded in the U.S and around the world, reinforced by new reports and studies showing that cameras lead to significant decreases in intersection violations and crashes. As a supplement to traditional law enforcement, red light cameras can bring about behavior changes resulting in more motorists obeying traffic signals and signs and avoiding the crashes, injuries and loss of life caused by red light running. (Source http://www.stopredlightrunning.com/) For information n Minnesota’s efforts to address this traffic safety problem, contact Nancy@frankwilsonconsulting.com
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