Nearly Half of Child Car Seats in Texas Are Installed Wrong
The week of September 17 through September 23, 2023, is National Child Passenger Safety Week. If you have young children and they ride in a vehicle with you, they must be properly buckled into their own child safety seat. In Texas, it's the law.
Unfortunately, nearly half of all car seats in Texas are installed incorrectly. We must check our children's car seats to ensure they are installed correctly for the safety of the children. The Texas Department of Transportation has tools online to educate parents on how to properly secure their children in their car safety seats.
The Texas Department of Transportation’s “Save Me With a Seat” campaign will train caregivers in this regard, coinciding with National Child Passenger Safety Week.
“It’s extremely important that parents schedule a car seat check today,” said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. “Ensuring car seats are installed correctly is one of the most important things a parent or caregiver can do to protect the smallest occupants in a crash.” Around 46% of all car seats are misused as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Source:TxDot
The campaign is inviting all parents to make sure that they schedule a free car seat safety check by visiting SaveMeWithASeat.org, entering your ZIP code, then locating the nearest TxDOT traffic safety specialist in your area. TxDOT offers free car seat safety checks all year round.
The “Save Me With a Seat” campaign reminds us that Texas law requires all children under 8 (or shorter than 4 feet, 9 inches) to sit in a children's car seat whenever they ride in a passenger vehicle. Failure to properly restrain your child can result in a ticket of up to $250.
Last year alone, 72 children under the age of 8-years-old died in traffic crashes in Texas, and 16 of those were unrestrained at the time of the crash.
Want to learn more on car seat safety? Click on Save Me With A Seat. Drive safe, y'all.