Full Notification

September is Child Passenger Safety Awareness Month. September 20th is National Child Seat Check Saturday. The Kitty Hawk Fire and Police Departments will be hosting a child seat clinic on the 20th at Walmart from 10 am to 2 pm. Everyone is encouraged to bring out their car seats and have them checked. Law enforcement officers will also be out during the week of Sept 21-27 providing stepped up enforcement of North Carolina's child passenger restraint laws.

Here is a public service announcement from Safe Kids -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGeK2Sw2EP0


Here are some key statistics about child passenger restraint use -



Car seats, booster seats and seat belts offer the best protection for children in crashes.

Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children 1 to 13 years old.

During the 5-year period from 2008 to 2012, more than 3,390 children were killed in car crashes. In addition, an estimated 613,000 children were injured.

In 2012 alone, 121,000 children under age 13 were injured as passengers in car crashes.
Based on U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash data, in 2012 on average, nearly 2 children under the age of 13 were killed and 332 were injured every day while riding in cars, SUVs, pickups, and vans.

In 2012, over one third (37%) of children killed in car crashes were not in car seats, booster seats, or seat belts.

Every 34 seconds one child, under age 13, is involved in a crash.

Car seats save lives and work best when used correctly.

In 2012, among children under the age of 5 in cars, an estimated 284 lives were saved by child restraints. An additional 58 children could have lived if car seat use was 100 percent.

Car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in cars.

All 50 States, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have laws requiring children to be restrained while riding in cars. Some States nowrequire kids to ride in appropriate car seats or booster seats until age 9.

Failure to read and carefully follow the installation instructions included with a car seat as well as those in the vehicle owner's manual can lead to incorrect installation, exposing a child passenger to grave risk of serious injury or death in a crash.