09/22/2015 // 1-800-Car-Wreck // (press release)
In recognition of Child Passenger Safety Week, the Texas Department of Transportation will be conducting free child seat safety inspections. The state effort is being made in advance of National Seat Check Saturday, which is September 19, 2015.
Source: BusinessWire Release “TxDOT Offers Free Child Safety Seat Inspections to Save Young Lives”
“AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Texas Department of Transportation offers free child safety seat checks at the agency’s 25 statewide district offices and encourages all caregivers to make an appointment as part of national Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 13-19. TxDOT reminds all Texans that properly restraining their children while riding in vehicles is an everyday, year-round responsibility. It’s also the law.”
To read more visit http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150914006354/en/TxDOT-Offers-Free-Child-Safety-Seat-Inspections#.Vfr-U84_6jw.
Car crashes are statistically shown to be a leading cause of death for children under the age of 13. Statistics also show that in the state of Texas 81 children younger than the age of 8 were killed in fatal traffic accidents on Texas roads last year. One problematic factor concerning the injuries and deaths of children in motor vehicle accidents is that many are not placed in restraint systems properly, and remain at risk of serious injury or death in spite of being placed in child safety seats if an accident occurs. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows that 59 percent of child safety seats placed in vehicles are incorrectly installed by parents. The most common mistakes include allowing harness straps to remain too loose and placing harness straps through the wrong slots.
According to Texas law, children under age 8 who are shorter than 4 feet nine inches are required to be in a child safety seat at all times while riding in a passenger vehicle. Says Dallas personal injury lawyer Amy Witherite of the Eberstein Witherite law firm “The law is designed to protect children in the event of an accident, but if they aren’t being properly restrained or are placed in child safety seats that are defective it undermines the purpose.”
During Child Passenger Safety Week, programs are also being hosted to help parents and others become more knowledgeable about proper child seat restraints and keeping kids safe while traveling.
Source: The Monitor Report “Child Passenger Safety Week to feature free seats, expert advice”
“EDINBURG — When children in their car seats are inspected by safety experts, most are not properly restrained, according to Joanne Ureste, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service family resources agent for Hidalgo County…Child passenger safety seat checkups routinely show four out of five children are not properly restrained either in their child safety seat or in the safety belt system,” she said. “The problem usually has to do with using the wrong seat for a particular car or truck. And this is very disturbing because the most precious cargo a person can ever transport is their children.”
To read more visit http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/child-passenger-safety-week-to-feature-free-seats-expert-advice/article_030a951c-583e-11e5-8982-3b5046d1b7b8.html.
More information about scheduling a child safety seat check with an available TxDOT Traffic Safety Specialist can be found by texting the word “seat” to 876526 during the duration of the campaign.
TxDOT Executive Director LtGen Joe Weber, USMC (Ret) says of the initiative “We’re not going to stop until every child in Texas is buckled into the correct safety seat for their age and size.”
Media Contact:
Lucy Tiseo
Eberstein Witherite LLP Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth
http://www.1800-car-wreck.com/
Phone: 866-774-5410
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