National Seat Check Saturday

I no longer have children small enough for car seats, but it is still something I think about. When I see little ones standing up in the backseats of cars, or riding in the front on people’s laps it really irks me! Children should be taught car safety, they should know that they need to be buckled in correctly before the car moves! That’s why I feel so strongly about supporting NHTSA’s (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) Child Passenger Safety Week (September 12-18, 2009) and Seat Check Saturday (September 12, 2009 ).

From the nhtsa.gov website:

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children age 3 to 6 and 8 to 14. In 2007, 6,532 passenger vehicle occupants 14 and younger were involved in fatal crashes. During Child Passenger Safety Week (September 12-18), parents and caregivers are urged to make sure their car seats and booster seats are properly installed in their vehicles to prevent injuries and deaths amongst their children.

In 2007, among children under age 5, an estimated 358 lives were saved from the use of child safety seats and booster seats. If all children under the age of 5 were restrained, an additional 71 children would have been saved.

Three out of four child safety seats are improperly installed according to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For proper instructions please visit our child passenger safety website. www.nhtsa.gov/cps

For more information please visit the Child Passenger Safety site. You can also find more info on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Use the Inspection location locator to find Seat Check stations near you!

Other links of interest:

UPDATE: Join Momfluence and Officials from NHTSA on Thursday September 17th from 8 – 9pm est for a Twiiter party! The topic will be child passenger safety with lots of Q & A. Also, to see how much people have learned this week they will be asking questions of the party-goers and ten correct answers will receive a prize! Use Twitter hashtag #ChildSeatSafety to join in, hope to see you there!