PENNDOT PROMOTES NATIONAL CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY WEEK

PennDOT announces Child Passenger Safety Week starting February 11^th 

     KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (February 8, 2007)  -- – PennDOT wants to assure that all children are protected from harm while riding in a vehicle. The message to “Buckle Up For Life” is the theme for National Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs from Feb. 11-17.  There are free special events in the Philadelphia region (Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties) to assist parents and caregivers with proper car seat installation and seat belt use (see page 2).

During this special week, motorists are urged to ensure that passengers of all ages understand the importance of buckling up. Although the campaign is focused primarily on child passenger safety, the intention is to raise public awareness of Pennsylvania’s child safety seat and seat belt laws, and also incorporate PennDOT’s “Click It or Ticket: 2 Tickets, 2 Fines” initiative to promote adult seat belt use.  

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an average of five children age 14 and younger were killed and 640 were injured each day in motor vehicle crashes during 2005.

Using a seat belt is proven to save lives and reduce injuries. According to NHTSA research, lap/shoulder safety belts when used reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat occupants (age five and older) of passenger cars by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent.

 National data also shows that among children under age five, an estimated 420 lives were saved in 2005 by child restraint use. Nearly 100 additional lives could have been saved if all motorists were in compliance with child safety seat requirements.

For more information on child passenger safety or if you are unable to afford a car seat, call 1-800-CAR-BELT to find the nearest car seat loaner program.

Under Pennsylvania’s seat belt law, all drivers are responsible for ensuring front seat occupants wear a seat belt and for securing children in the appropriate child restraint system.

Here are Pennsylvania’s child seat, booster seat and seat belt laws by age group:

-- Birth until 4 years old – child safety seat required

-- 4 through 7 years old - booster seat required

-- 8 through 17 years old – seatbelt required anywhere in the vehicle (also, children under 13 are recommended to sit in the back seat)

-- 18 and up – seatbelt required while sitting in front seats

Free PennDOT-funded events are scheduled throughout the region in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties to educate parents and caregivers and help them install car seats and booster seats properly.  Here is a list of some of the free events that are scheduled for Child Passenger Safety Week. 

An appointment is required for having your car seat checked; please call the number listed below for the event that interests you.  For additional events and car seat information, call 1-800-CAR-BELT.

Editor’s Note: See attached tip sheets for child safety seat, seat belt use, and pre-teen advice for parents.

Tips to make sure everyone in the family is properly buckled up

1.      Read both the car seat instructions and the vehicle owner’s manual before installing car seats.

2.      All children under 13 should ride in the back seat.

3.      When installing your child’s car seat, place your weight on the car seat. Lock the seat belt according to the vehicle’s instructions on the seat belt or in the owner’s manual.  Check the installation and allow no more than 1 inch of side-to-side or forward movement.

4.      Infants should ride rear-facing and semi-reclined to no more than 45 degrees, until at least age 1 and 20 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping children rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the child safety seat's manufacturer. NEVER place a rear-facing infant in front of a passenger side air bag. Place the harness in the slots at or below the shoulders. Tighten the harness until it lies in a relatively straight line without any slack or sagging but not so tight as to press into the child’s body causing discomfort. Adjust the chest clip on the harness to armpit level (if manufacturer provides one).

5.      Toddlers ride forward-facing and upright once they reach at least age 1 and 20 pounds. Children should stay in the forward facing-seat with a harness until they are 40 pounds. Place the harness through the top reinforced slots on the seat (unless instructions say otherwise). Tighten the harness until it lies in a relatively straight line without any slack or sagging as indicated in 4 above. Place chest clip at armpit level.  

6.      NHTSA recommends that all children who have outgrown child safety seats be properly restrained in a booster seat until they are at least age eight and approximately 4-feet, 9-inches tall. Use the belt positioning booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt properly adjusted to fit a small child over the hips and shoulder.

7.      Children should stay in a belt positioning booster seat until the lap and shoulder belt fit them correctly.

8.      For children age eight through adult, it is important to use a properly positioned seat belt.  Properly positioned means that the shoulder belt is across the shoulder and the lap belt is low and snug across the hips.  NEVER place a shoulder belt behind the back or under the arm.

9.      To be able to fit a safety belt properly, a child must be tall enough to sit without slouching, keep his/her back and buttocks against the vehicle seat back, keep his/her knees completely bent over the edge of the vehicle seat, keep his/her feet flat on the floor, and be able to stay comfortably seated this way.

10.  BUCKLE UP EVERY TIME, EVERY RIDE!

Safety Advice for Older Children

1.      Involve “tweens” in family discussions about safety in all motor vehicles.

2.      Teach children that safety belts save lives and that an unbuckled passenger is likely to injure others.

3.      Make sure the shoulder belt fits correctly across the center of the chest and collarbone, and the lap belt remains low and snug across the hips/upper thighs, and that good posture is maintained.

4.      Teach children to counter peer pressure with the facts.  

5.      Make sure that other drivers have the same rules as you do and enforce them in their vehicles if car-pooling.  Limit the number of passengers you transport to avoid driver distraction. 

6.      Involve your children in family discussions and setting of "house and car rules."  Discuss who the children are allowed to ride in a car with, when a child should refuse a ride, and that buckling up is required.

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