19-16 Child Safety Week
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
9/4/2019
Ofc. Yager #70
2019 Illinois Child Passenger Safety Week
The most important task of a parent or caregiver is to keep their children safe. Part of that
responsibility is ensuring children are safely buckled up in the correct, properly installed car
seats for their age and size. This choice could be the difference between life or death for your
children. You have a long list of things you do for your children every day because you love
them. Making sure your children are correctly secured in the appropriate car seat or booster
seat should be at the top of that list. The Illinois Department of Transportation encourages
parents and caregivers to have their car seats inspected during Child Passenger Safety Week
held Sept. 15-21.
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading killer of children 12 and younger. From 2013-17, there were
3,313 children killed while riding in cars, pickups, vans, and SUVs. That’s why Child Passenger
Safety Week is necessary. These events are designed to help parents and caregivers learn
about proper car seat installation and how to use the car seats correctly. Technicians can also
discuss car seat selection with parents if parents have questions about transitioning their child
to another type of seat.
As children grow and transition from one type of car seat to another, parents sometimes
become less vigilant about ensuring that their children are properly buckled in the right seats for
their age and size. The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
shows that more than one-third (35%) of the children who died in passenger vehicles in 2017
were not buckled up at all, with the majority of them being children between 8 and 12. Also in
2017, among children under 5, car seats saved an estimated 312 lives. An estimated total of
371 more children could have survived if they had been correctly buckled up 100 percent of the
time. Children need to be buckled up, in the correct car seat, every trip, every time.
The Illinois Department of Transportation is partnering with dozens of agencies across the state
to educate parents and caregivers on how to correctly buckle up their child as a part of National
Child Passenger Safety Week. Illinois plans to have near 100 car seat checks held throughout
the state. To find a car seat check in your area, please visit www.buckleupILLINOIS.org.
Approved by: JK – COP
19-16