The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is joining the Department of Public Health Office of Injury Prevention in encouraging parents and caregivers across Georgia to make sure their precious cargo is riding in a properly-installed car seat or booster seat.
As designated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this week is National Child Passenger Safety Week and certified child passenger safety technicians are raising awareness about the importance of properly securing children in vehicles while checking seats to make sure they are properly installed.
Child Passenger Safety Week is dedicated to teaching parents and caregivers about the importance of correctly choosing, installing, and using car seats, booster seats, and seat belts because car crashes are still a leading cause of death for children.
Last year, nearly 1 out of every 5 children under 8 years of age involved in a motor vehicle crash were reported to have transitioned too early from a child restraint system to a seat belt restraint system.
This week, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and Department of Public Health are hosting events in local communities across the state, providing free car seat safety checks to those that drop by to participate.
In addition to instructing parents on how to correctly install and use car/booster seats, technicians will help determine if your children are in the right seat for their age, height, and weight. They will also register any unregistered car seats with their manufacturer to ensure parents are aware of potential recall notifications.
State of Georgia law requires children under the age of eight years to be restrained in a car seat or booster seat that is appropriate for the child based on the manufacturer recommendations of the child’s height and weight.
Research shows car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent with infants and 54 percent with toddlers in passenger vehicles.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends keeping children in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible, up to the top height or weight allowed by their particular seat.
Once a child outgrows the rear-facing-only “infant- style” car seat, he/she should travel in a rear-facing “convertible,” or all-in-one car seat.
After the child sizes out of the rear-facing limits, the child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.
Only once outgrowing the forward-facing car seat with a harness should children be placed in booster seats, which should be utilized until they are the right size to safely use seat belts.
If children are under 13 years old, they should always sit in the back seat.
On average, more than half of the car seats that law enforcement encounter on the road are incorrectly installed.