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TRENTON
– The announcement of new car seat
recommendations for children highlights
the annual Child Passenger Safety Week,
which will feature a public information
campaign and safety events to be held throughout
New Jersey.
Attorney
General Paula T. Dow and Division of Highway
Traffic Safety Acting Director Gary Poedubicky
today announced the new recommendations,
which were issued by the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP).
The
AAP now recommends that children over age
one remain in a rear facing child safety
seat up to the top height or weight limit
of the rear facing seat, or until the child
outgrows the rear facing seat. A rear facing
seat provides support for the head, neck,
and spine, and parents should use child
safety seats with higher weight and height
limits for these young children.
The new guidelines encourage parents to
keep their children in the appropriate car
seat until that child reaches the top height
or weight limit allowed by the seat’s
manufacturer. Children would graduate from
a rear-facing car seat to a front-facing
seat and then to a booster seat as they
grow. All child passengers should always
be buckled up in the back seat.
“With
these new guidelines, we can give parents
more insight on keeping their children safe,”
Dow said. “Crashes are the leading
cause of death for children from ages one
to 12. The numbers clearly illustrate the
danger of not properly securing your child
in a vehicle.”
Child
Passenger Safety Week is an annual campaign
to bring public attention to the importance
of properly securing all children in appropriate
car seats, booster seats or seat belts –
every trip, every time. The campaign ends
on September 24 with National Seat Check
Saturday, when certified child passenger
safety technicians will provide advice and
hands-on car seat inspections nationwide
for free.
According
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), three out of four children are
not as secure in the car as they should
be because their car seats are not being
used correctly.
In
motor vehicle crashes, car seats reduce
the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for
children younger than one and by 54 percent
for children one to four in passenger cars,
according to data collected by NHTSA. In
2009 alone, 754 children 12 or younger were
killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes
while riding in passenger cars or light
trucks. And among those who were fatally
injured where restraint use was known, 42
percent were unrestrained. Many of these
tragedies could have been prevented if the
children were in the right restraint for
their age and size.
“Now
is the time to check and recheck how you’re
securing and keeping your children safe,”
Poedubicky said. “This is an opportunity
for parents to educate themselves and potentially
prevent a horrible tragedy.”
The Division of Highway Traffic safety has
offered the following tips to use when you
buckle up your child.
-
Select a car seat based on your child’s
age and size, and choose a seat that fits
in your vehicle and use it every time.
- Always
refer to your specific car seat manufacturer’s
instructions; read the vehicle owner’s
manual on how to install the car seat
using the seat belt or LATCH system; and
check height and weight limits.
- To
maximize safety, keep your child in the
car seat for as long as possible, as long
as the child fits within the manufacturer’s
height and weight requirements.
- Keep
your child in the back seat at least through
age 12.
View list of Child
Passenger Safety Week events.
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