Parents urged to use child safety seats properly

The Jenkins County Family Enrichment Center, Jenkins County Fire and Rescue, Georgia Department of Human Resources' Injury Prevention Officials, the Georgia Governor's Office of Highway Safety, the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) and others are joining together to encourage parents and caregivers to show how much they love their children by making sure they ride in protective child safety seats. Child Passenger Safety Week is a good time to ensure children are adequately protected when riding in cars.

"Statistics from the National Highway Transportation Administration show car safety seats save lives. The bottom line is that car seats are the most effective way to protect children in motor vehicle crashes," said Robert Reeves Jr. (car seat safety technician).

The primary goal is to remind all parents and other adults responsible for children traveling in motor vehicles that if children are less than 4' 9" tall, they need to be in a booster seat.

Since 1975, the rate of motor vehicle crash deaths in children ages birth to 4 years old has been cut nearly in half, largely because of the use of car seats, and the lives of almost 8,000 children less than 5 years old have been saved by the use of restraints. In 2005, the lives of an estimated 420 children less than 5 years old were saved.

Overall, car safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for children 1 to 4 years old. Belt-positioning booster seats reduce the risk of injury by 59 percent for children 4 to 7 years old.

"Many parents are under the false impression that children who have outgrown child safety seats can move right into regular safety belts, but nothing could be further from the truth," said Reeves.

For more information about protecting your child from preventable injuries or to receive a free car seat, contact Evan Chance at Jenkins County Family Enrichment Center, 478-982- 8004. (Free car seats are subject to eligibility criteria. The child must be enrolled in either WIC, Medicaid or Peachcare.)