SK_Car.htm

SAFE KIDS OF CENTRAL MISSOURI
Child Car Passenger Safety Page

Click on the "FLASH" to go to the Indicated Areas

MOBILE CAR SEAT CHECK UP VAN	SAFETY INFORMATION
SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP^SM PROGRAM	SAFETY TIPS
OTHER CAR PASSENGER SAFETY LINKS	SAFE KIDS SAFETY PAGES

Each year, nearly 1,400 children age 14 and under die in motor vehicle crashes and

Another 280,000 are injured mostly because they are not properly secured in the vehicle.

4 out of 5

Child car seats are used wrong.

Could your child's be one of them?

You are invited to get your child's car seat checked and to receive

free information about traveling safely with kids. Visit the

SAFE KIDS of Central Missouri's

CHEVY VENTURE MOBILE CAR SEAT CHECK UP VAN

This new and exciting resource is now available in the Jefferson City area.

The SAFE KIDS of Central Missouri was awarded one of

these vans on January 18, 2000 in Washington, DC.

THE SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP^SM PROGRAM

To help in preventing these tragedies, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign and General Motors launched into an unprecedented five-year partnership in order to promote the proper use of car seats and seat belts. The SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP program will focus on a new key venue, the automobile dealership, where families can conveniently access vital child passenger safety information and receive hands-on instruction on the proper installation and use of car seats and safety belts. The program will provide child safety information through the media, GM dealerships, physicians' offices, Head Start programs, community health centers, other community-based organizations in an all out effort to reduce vehicular related injuries to children.

The SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP program is a broad based educational effort that includes an educational video, public service announcements, posters, a brochure, and workshops for health educators. Selected GM dealerships across the country will distribute SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP materials and will participate in child passenger safety educational events that will provide instructions on proper car seat installation and seat belt use. An integral and unique component of the program will be "Car Seat Check Up Events" conducted nationwide by the more than 200 State and Local Coalitions. They will also work through a wide network of health and education partners to reach parents and caregivers with critical safety seat information.

Six national health and education organizations are participating with the National SAFE KIDS Campaign SAFE KIDS BUCKLE UP program, including:

American Academy of Family Physicians

American Academy of Pediatrics

American College of Emergency Physicians

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

National Association of Children's Hospitals

National Association of Community Health Centers

National Head Start Association

CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY INFORMATION

CHILD SAFETY SEATS

Child safety seats are extremely effective when correctly installed and used, reducing the risk of death by 69 percent for infants (under age 1) and by 47 percent for toddlers (ages 1 to 4).

From 1982 through 1994, it is estimated that 2,655 lives were saved by child restraint use. More than 300 children age 4 and under were saved as a result of child restraint use in 1994 alone.

If all child passengers under the age of 4 are restrained, an additional 200 lives could be saved and 20,000 injuries prevented annually.

SEAT BELTS AND AIR BAGS

Lap/shoulder safety belts, when used correctly, reduce the risk of death or serious injury to adult front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and are 50 percent effective in reducing the risk of moderate-to-critical injury.

Air bags are estimated to reduce adult fatalities by an additional 10 percent over and above the benefits of using safety belts. It is estimated that air bags saved 1,500 lives between 1987 and 1995; 570 lives were saved in 1995 alone.

As of September 1996, 26 children under age the age of 10 have been killed by passenger-side air bags. Nearly all of these children were either unrestrained or improperly restrained.

Seat belts provide the greatest protection against ejection from a vehicle during a crash. Three quarters of the occupants who are totally ejected from passenger vehicles during fatal crashes are killed.

CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY TIPS

PREVENTION TIPS

Always use child safety seats and/or safety belts correctly every time you ride and restrain children in the back seat whenever possible.

Never put a rear-facing infant or convertible seat in the front passenger seat of a vehicle with a passenger side air bag.

Read your child safety seat instruction manual and your motor vehicle owner's manual for directions on proper installation. Some vehicles require supplemental attachment hardware to ensure proper fit of child safety seats.

Only buy a child safety seat with a certification label that shows that it meets or exceeds Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 213.

Call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Auto Safety Hotline (1-800-424-9393) to see if any recalls or safety notices have been issued on your child safety seat.

CAR SEAT SAFETY INSPECTIONS

Proper installation of your child's car seat is important to the safety of your child. You can have the seat checked by calling CeMo Cares for an appointment.

Phone or E-Mail: Lisa Althoff

(573) 761-3111