ANSR for kids (Ambulances Need Safety Regulations)

Dear President Obama and Members of Congress,

Here are some numbers you may not be aware of:

• In the US, approx 1.8 Million Children under 5 years old are transported by emergency vehicles each year


• There are also approximately 5,000 ambulance and fire vehicle crashes/year


• In a collision at 35mph, an unrestrained 15kg child is exposed to the same forces as in falling from a 4th story window


• It is estimated that there are approximately 4 child fatalities per year

We at ANSR for kids have developed a five-point plan, outlining actual steps that this Administration, with the support of the legislative branch of our Federal government, can take to protect our youngest children from further critical injuries or death while being transported in an emergency vehicle.

1. Establish a task force that will study the data derived from the July 2000 crash-testing of ambulances funded by EMS for Children and NHTSA and run under the auspices of NIOSH as well as prior ambulance crash-testing conducted by Dr. Nadine Levick (www.objectivesafety.net). The task force should combine that data together with the ANSI/ASSE Z15 safety standards established for fleet vehicles (ambulances included), to determine the minimum safe height and/or weight requirements whereby a child may be safely secured to a stretcher, and devise an industry standard for a child-size safety restraint device to be used on ambulances whenever minimum requirements are not otherwise met.

2. Oversee the development of, and funding for a child-size device for an emergency vehicle that will safely transport a child that does not meet the minimum height/weight requirements to be safely secured on an adult stretcher, restrain him/her properly, protect his/her neck and head from injury, and be able to adapt to allow emergency procedures to be performed during transport.

3. Create legislation that requires this and any other child safety restraint devices built for this environment be crash-tested to the new industry standards, for the purpose of insuring that those standards have been met.

4. Create legislation that requires manufacturers of these child safety restraint devices certify that they meet all national safety standards and that they are approved for use as a child restraint device in an ambulance.

5. Create legislation that requires that every ambulance be equipped with an approved child safety restraint device.

Please help us correct a serious deficiency in the emergency care system and make a measurable difference when it comes to protecting our children.