IDOT, Secretary of State Jesse White and AAA Launch National Child Passenger Safety Week
in Illinois
Announce Seat Check Saturday Statewide
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation
(IDOT), Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s Office and AAA
joined efforts today to launch the 2012 National Child Passenger
Safety Week in Illinois. The annual campaign brings attention to
the importance of properly securing all children in appropriate
car seats, booster seats or standard seat belts. The week
concludes with National Seat Check Saturday on Sept. 22, when
certified child passenger safety technicians will provide free
advice and hands-on child safety seat inspections at 80 events
across Illinois. This year’s campaign, titled “Cookies, Cuddles
and Car Seats,” is aimed to create awareness of the role
grandparents play regarding the overall well-being of their
grandchildren when traveling.
“Our children and grandchildren depend on us to keep them
safe and secure,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L.
Schneider. “IDOT works diligently each day to further improve
our effective child passenger program and, most importantly, to
help ensure our loved ones travel safely on state roadways.”
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for
children age one through 12 years old. Based on National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash data, an average of
two children (age 12 or younger in a passenger vehicle) were
killed and 325 were injured each day in 2010. This fatality rate
could be reduced by nearly half if the correct car seat were
used. In addition, statistics show three out of four children
are not as secure in the car as they should be due to improper
car seat usage. Using the correct restraints reduces infants’
chance of fatal injury by 71 percent in passenger cars and
toddlers by 54 percent.
“Since one of the leading causes of death and injury for
children is automobile crashes, parents should make sure that
everyone who cares for their children are transporting them
properly,” said Secretary White. “Three out of four child safety
seats are improperly installed. Many grandparents are caregivers
and this year’s Child Passenger Safety Week focuses on
encouraging them and others to get seats checked to ensure that
little ones are properly secured,” White said.
“In a recent AAA survey of Illinois grandparents, nearly 60
percent of those surveyed drive at least monthly with their
young grandchildren in the car,” noted Brad Roeber, Regional
President of AAA Chicago. “It’s critical then that we’re
reaching these grandparents with the important message that
their grandkids need to be properly buckled in car seats every
trip, every time.”
According to manufacturer instructions, parents and
grandparents are encouraged to follow NHTSA’s car seat
recommendation to keep children in their specific restraint
types for as long as possible. For maximum safety, a parent or
caregiver should have the car seat installation inspected by a
certified child passenger safety technician to ensure their
children are in the right seats for their age and size.
Additional guidelines are as follows:
- Rear-facing seats must remain in the back seat, from
birth of child to the height and weight limit of the seat;
recommended up to two years old, but at a minimum age of one
and 20 pounds.
- Forward-facing seats must be placed in the back seat
after the child has reached the height or weight limit of
the rear-facing seat, to about age four and 40-65 pounds.
- Booster seats should be placed in the back seat on
children age four to at least age eight.
- Safety belts are for children age eight or older, and
taller than 4-foot-9.
In addition, all children, age 13 or younger, should ride in
the back seat. As of January 1, 2012, safety belt use is
required in all seated positions.
For more information on child passenger safety and on
statewide seat checks taking place Sept. 22, visit
www.buckleupillinois.org
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