National Child Passenger Safety Week - September 18 - 24, 2011

Parents are invited to Seat Check Events during the week of September 18 to 24

SALISBURY, MD – Each year, Child Passenger Safety Week (CPS) is celebrated across the country to remind parents and caregivers of the need to keep children of all ages properly restrained in the seat that meets their weight and height requirements.  Child Passenger Safety Technicians will be present this Saturday September 24^th at Sam’s Club in North Salisbury from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. to ensure that families are using the right restraint whether it is a car seat, booster seat or seat belt.  

“All it takes is following a few basic guidelines so parents and caregivers can determine which restraint system is best suited to protect their children in a vehicle.” said Tammy Griffin, Coordinator of Safe Kids Lower Shore Maryland.

Unfortunately, car crashes remain the leading cause of death for children ages 3-14, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).  In efforts to reduce this, Safe Kids USA's multifaceted child passenger safety program – Safe Kids Buckle Up (SKBU) – has been working diligently for the last 14 years.  By inspecting 1.4 million car seats; holding 65,000 car seat checkup events; and donating close to 500,000 car seats to families in need, Safe Kids Buckle Up has reached more than 21 million people through events and community outreach efforts.

This year is particularly significant because Safe Kids USA spent the course of a year collecting research data from 79,000 child safety seat inspections.   A key finding in the Safe Kids USA research showed that less than 1/3 of the forward facing child seats arriving at seat check events used a top tether.  A top tether is a strap at the top of the car seat that hooks to a tether anchor in the vehicle, and which provides added protection to children by helping reduce the forward movement of child’s head in a crash. 

"As a nation, we must improve child safety in vehicles and one way to do so is by adopting use of the top tethers.  These are on virtually all forward-facing car seats and can be attached to anchors in every car made after 1999,” said Torine Creppy, Executive Director of Safe Kids Buckle Up.  “Safe Kids is moving quickly to apply the lessons learned from the study”

On Saturday September 24th be sure to come out to Sam’s Club for a safety seat checkup. It is a great time for you and your family to make sure that your child safety seat is installed correctly and to learn when it is time to from one seat to another based on your child’s age, weight and height.

"When in doubt about proper car seat use, parents should take advantage of the many resources that are available through Safe Kids USA and others." said Vivian Pickard, President of the General Motors Foundation, the sponsor of Safe Kids Buckle Up (SKBU).

About Safe Kids Lower Shore Maryland

Safe Kids Lower Shore Maryland works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 1 to 14. Its members include County Health Departments, Maryland Cooperative Extension, County Sheriffs Offices, multiple city police and fire departments, local boards of education, local hospitals and Maryland State Police. Safe Kids Lower Shore Maryland is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids Lower Shore Maryland is led by the Wicomico County Health Department.