This week marks Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week. It’s a time of year where the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration aim to raise awareness for parents and caregivers around correctly and properly installing car seats and restraints for children.
Susan DeCourcy, a regional administrator for NHTSA, said data show that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children.
“And the latest research from NHTSA shows that 46% of car seats are misused,” DeCourcy said.” “Some of the common issues include children being in the wrong type of car seat for their age and size, the car seats are installed improperly, both of which means the children are left vulnerable to injury and a crash. In 2022, three children aged 14 and younger were killed in traffic crashes every day in 2022. And another 429 were injured.”
But the good news is that when car seats are installed correctly, they’re very effective.
“Since 1975, child restraints have saved the lives of 11,606 children under the age of 5,” she said. “We're making great strides. But in passenger cars, child safety seats have shown to reduce fatal injury by 71% in infants and 54% for toddlers.”
DeCourcy said there is a correctly sized seat for children of every age and developmental stage, from infants to pre-teens and older. And speaking of older kids, she said there’s action to be taken with them as passengers, too.
“It’s important that children under 13 ride in the back seat,” DeCourcy said, “which can be hard to do, but it's very important. Parents shouldn't be in a rush to move their children to the next seat, and kids may want to ditch the harness or the booster seat or come up to the front seat. But, caregivers really need to stay firm on car seat safety in order to protect their young passengers. Keeping a child in the right seat for their age can make all the difference in the crash.”
She said taking the time to periodically check a child’s car seat — like today — is a critical step towards safety. But it’s also important for adults in the car to model safety, too.
“Research shows that there's a strong correlation between caregivers who buckle up and their child passenger seat belt use,” Decourcy said. “For example, in 2022, the child passengers killed in crashes while riding with an unbuckled driver, 68% of those children were also unbuckled. So, buckle up, everyone buckle up every trip and every time you drive or ride.”
This Saturday, Sept. 21, is National Seat Check Saturday, a day for parents and caregivers to receive free instruction on how to correctly install and use the right car seat for their children. You can go to the NHTSA website and plug in your zip code to find a location near you where technicians and experts will check your car seat free of charge. And you’ll also find more details about registering your car seat to get details on possible recalls, travel tips and more.
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