A Week Dedicated to Child Passenger Safety

This week marks Child Passenger Safety Week (CPS Week)—a time dedicated to protecting the smallest, most vulnerable passengers on our roads. Children rely on adults to set an example for them, and to ensure that they are secure when we travel with them in our vehicles.

Last Friday a kick off event was held for CPS Week in Lawrence. A young mother spoke about how her two daughters, ages three and six, are still alive because they were in properly fitted and properly installed child safety seats when another motorist crashed into them. Even with the force of the crash they were in, which knocked off the mother and both daughters’ shoes, the two girls still came out unharmed.

There are great benefits to Child Passenger Safety Week. The week brings about awareness to the accessibility of technicians to properly install your child’s safety seat. During the week, numerous events are held throughout the state to check child seats for safety and proper fit and installation. These events are free of charge, quick (normally lasting less than half an hour), and many times, no appointment is necessary. Seat check events in your area can be located using the following link: http://www.safekids.org/in-your-area/car-seat-check-up-events/?state=KS&event_type_category=&dateType=event_date&startDate=&endDate=

Another great thing that happens during Child Passenger Safety Week is the Kansas Motor Carriers Association’s annual donation of child safety seats. On Friday, KMCA President Jason Hammes presented our agency with 105 child safety seats of various sizes that will benefit those children in Kansas who are in need of a seat. KMCA is commited to improving traffic safety. They have partnered with us on this important safety effort for the past 11 years, helping protect our children—our most important resource.

Typically Kansas parents do a great job of securing children from when they are born until the age of four. However, once these kids grow to the ages of five to nine, the rate is lower than adult usage rates. For children ages five to nine, they are secured at a rate of 76-percent…that is six percent lower than the adult seat belt usage rate. For youth ages 10-14, the securement rate is even lower, with only 68-percent of these kids buckled up. That is not good enough. Should these kids be involved in a traffic crash, their best defense against injury or death is being properly secured in a child seat, and/or seatbelt. We must do better to protect the youth on our roadways!

For the protection of your family, and children in your care, I encourage you to look for Child Passenger Safety Week events near you. Get your car seat checked for proper fit and installation. Any time you need a car seat inspected or have questions, you can contact your local Kansas Highway Patrol office to set an inspection up, the following link will direct you to what field office you need to call: http://www.kansashighwaypatrol.org/field_op/troops.html .