This week in safety: More folks are buckling up

Seat belt use has risen to a record 84 percent, up one percent from last year, according to new data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Each percent increase translates into an estimated 280 additional lives that will be saved. In 2008, an estimated 13,250 lives were saved by the use of safety belts, the agency reports.

As our Cars blog reported, studies show that in states where there is a primary law enforcing seat belt use (one in which you can be pulled over solely for that offense) the compliance rate is higher—88 percent compared with 77 percent in states with other laws. There are also regional differences. The West continues to have the highest rate of use at 93 percent. And seat belt use rose in the Northeast 3 percentage points to 82 percent; 2 points in the Midwest to 82 percent; and 1 point to 82 percent in the South.

Other CR safety news

• Cars: IIHS crash test: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air
• Health: Injury rates higher for high school football players and wrestlers
• Home: Make your own (less toxic) cleaners

Headlines
Lead, arsenic found in products from handbags to car seats
USA Today
A consumer watchdog group has found lead, arsenic and other potentially harmful chemicals in an array of everyday products, from handbags to pet supplies to car seats and backpacks. Read more ...

Residents plead for action in town hall meeting on Chinese drywall
WWLTV.com
A colossal crowd unsuccessfully tried to squeeze inside of the Mandeville City Council chambers, eager to get answers on what to do about their contaminated Chinese drywall. Read more ...

New York eyes ‘No Smoking’ outdoors, too
The New York Times
New York City’s workplace smoking ban six years ago drove cigarette and cigar puffers outdoors. But soon some of the outdoors may be off limits, too: The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, said  that he would seek to ban smoking at city parks and beaches. Read more ...

Why can’t she walk to school?
The New York Times
To get to school, the child leaves home by herself, proudly walking down the boulevard in a suburb of a small city in upstate New York. The crossing guard helps her at the intersection. She lives only a block and a half from school. Yet she walks by older children waiting with parents for buses to the same school. Read more ...

Hints from Heloise: How to check an automatic garage door
The Washington Post
If your garage door opener is older than 1993, it should be replaced. Garage-door openers manufactured after Jan. 1, 1993, are required by federal law to have advanced safety features that comply with the latest Underwriters Laboratories standards. Read more ...

Limit your exposures to cell phone radiation
The Environmental Working Group
Scientists are exploring the health implications of cell phone radiation. Meanwhile, buy smart. The Environmental Working Group has a new interactive database to find wireless devices with the lowest emissions. Meanwhile, the kids are right—texting trumps talking. Read more ...

Don't miss these recalls

• 22,000 Trudeau Garlic Duo slicers (laceration hazard)
• 2,000 pairs of Clarks children’s shoes (choking hazard)
• 600 WoodMaster AFS 900 outdoor furnaces (fire hazard)