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National Child Passenger Safety Week Begins Feb. 8
(February 8, 2004)
During CPS Week Alone an Estimated 23 Kids Will Die in Vehicle Crashes(1)
AUBURN
HILLS, Mich., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- National Child Passenger Safety
(CPS) Week, February 8-14, is a time when safety advocates encourage the
nation to focus on keeping children safe in vehicles. It also is an
important time for everyone to do their part to remind parents of the
risks their children face when kids are not properly secured in a child
safety seat and direct parents to free resources to help them safely
install and use child safety seats correctly. Traffic
crashes remain the number one killer of kids. Despite the efforts of
conscientious parents who use child safety seats, many of them are not
using the seats correctly and do not know it. A survey commissioned by
Chrysler Group found that 97 percent of parents believe that they always
correctly use and install child safety seats.(2) Yet, field studies show
that eight out of ten children in safety seats are not buckled in
properly. This puts them at needless risk of serious injury or death in
the event of a crash. "Despite
the hard work of many, children continue to die in car crashes because
they are not properly secured in child safety seats. In 2002, 1,214
children died and 150,000 were injured in vehicle crashes," said
Deborah Morrissett, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Chrysler
Group. "By making sure children are properly buckled in, parents
can better protect their children." Chrysler
Group can help. It offers two free services and informational Web sites
to assist parents: SeatCheck, a toll-free hotline and Web site listing
more than 3,000 child seat inspection stations across the country; and
Fit for a Kid, a dealer-based child safety seat inspection service. To
find a listing of child safety seat inspection locations in addition to
Fit for a Kid dealers, parents can call toll free 1-866-SEAT-CHECK or
log onto www.seatcheck.org. Chrysler Group sponsors SeatCheck with the
support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
National Safety Council (NSC), Lamaze International, Graco Children's
Products, Toys 'R Us and Babies 'R Us. To
find a participating Fit for a Kid dealer, parents can call toll-free
1-877-Fit-4-a-Kid or log on to www.fitforakid.org. Safety seat
inspections are available by appointment at participating Chrysler,
Dodge or Jeep(R) dealers for anyone, regardless of make or model vehicle
they drive. Chrysler sponsors the program along with the NSC, Lamaze
International and Graco Children's Products. The NSC's Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and NHTSA strongly recommend that children 12 and under ride properly restrained in rear seats. That includes infants in rear-facing seats, children in convertible seats, children in booster seats, and children restrained by seat belts. Research has found that rear seats are 30 to 35 percent safer.(3) According to NHTSA, child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers (1-4 years old).(4) A child too big for a child safety seat, those between the ages of 4 and 8, should ride in a booster seat until they have reached 4' and 9" in height.
END References and Contacts:
(1) Traffic Safety Facts 2002, A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data Free Child Passenger Safety Resources are Available: -- SeatCheck -- 1-866-Seat-Check or www.seatcheck.org -- Fit for a Kid -- 1-877-Fit-4-A-Kid or www.fitforakid.org
Original source: Daimler Chrysler CONTACT: Suraya DaSante of Daimler Chrysler, +1-248-512-4889; or
Amanda Hill, +1-202-572-2918, for Daimler Chrysler Source: PR Newswire
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