Child Passenger Safety Week - Time to check your car seats

59% of child car seats are not properly installed

Every day in America, too many children ride in car seats that have been installed incorrectly, or are the wrong car seats for their age and size. Other children ride while completely unbuckled.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 59 percent of car seats are misused. To help combat the issue, this week has been declared Child Passenger Safety Week, a campaign dedicated to helping parents and caregivers make sure their children ride as safely as possible, every trip, every time. Child Passenger Safety Week runs September 18 to 24 and is sponsored by NHTSA.

According to the NHTSA:

• Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children.
• Every 33 seconds, one child under the age of 13 is involved in a crash.
• From 2010 to 2014, there were 3,181 children under 13 killed and about 601,000 children injured in car crashes.
• In 2014 alone, an estimated 112,000 children under 13 were injured as passengers in car crashes.
• On average, nearly 2 children under 13 were killed and 308 children were injured every day in 2014 while riding in cars, SUVs, pickups, and vans.

Car seats, booster seats, and seat belts save lives

• In 2014, among children under 5, car seats saved an estimated 252 lives.
• An additional 37 children could have survived if car seat use was at 100 percent.
• Car seats work best when used correctly
• In passenger cars, child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers.
• Most parents are confident they have correctly installed their child’s car seat, but in most cases (59%) the seat has not been installed correctly.
• All children under 13 should always ride in the back seats.

The Apopka Fire Department has NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians who will check your child car seat at no cost.

Use this link to make an appointment to have you child car seat checked.