Avoid Childhood Injuries and Deaths in Florida Auto Accidents : NHTSA Kicks Off Child Passenger Safety Week
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that its Child Passenger Safety Week campaign will take place Sept. 18 - 24, 2011. A National Seat Check Saturday event will conclude the campaign on 9/24/11. The campaign is launching to help parents make sure they have the right kind of car seat to protect their children.
As experienced Miami car accident injury attorneys -- and parents ourselves -- we know that child safety in automobiles is a serious concern when driving Florida streets and highways. Having child passengers properly restrained and seated in car seats that are appropriate for their weight and height are critical safety measures. In addition, it's important that car seats are installed and adjusted properly so they protect the children in the event of a car accident.
As part of the NHTSA child safety campaign, parents are invited to bring their cars and child car seats to inspection stations on Saturday Sept. 24, 2011. Technicians will inspect how the car seats are installed and adjusted, to make sure they are safely protecting children passengers. See link below to find South Florida inspection stations, in cities including those in Miami Dade and other Fla. counties.
Some statistics from NHTSA that would give any Florida parent pause for thought before they put their children in their cars, SUVs, or minivans…
> Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14 (based on 2006 figures from the National Center for Health Statistics).
> Every day in the United States, an average of four children age 14 and younger were killed and 529 were injured in motor vehicle crashes during 2008.
> During 2008, 5,598 passenger vehicle occupants age 14 and younger were involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes. For those children where restraint use was known, 23 percent were unrestrained; among those who were fatally injured, 46 percent were unrestrained.
> Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars. (Source: NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts 2008 Data : Children.)
Florida Child Passenger Restraint and Car Seat Laws
Florida law requires that children age 5 and younger be restrained in motor vehicles with a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. Little ones aged 3 and younger must be protected in a separate child car safety seat. See link below to Florida State website with more explaination of the 2011 Florida Statutes related to child passenger restraints and car seats.
A Miami, Fla. accident injury lawyer follows announcements pertaining to automotive and other consumer product safety recalls -- including child car seat recalls. NHTSA maintains a website (see link below) where consumers may search to see if their child car seat is part of or has been part of a safety recall.
Sources:
Child Passenger Safety Week / Seat Check Saturday, September 18 - 24, 2011
Car Seat Inspection Station Locator (search by state for Florida locations)
The 2011 Florida Statutes: Child Restraint Requirements
Related Web Resources:
NHTSA Child Safety portal
