First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson Kicks Off Statewide Child Passenger Safety Awareness Campaign

ALBANY, NY (09/20/2008)(readMedia)-- New York State First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson was joined by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC), the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), the Department of Health, certified child safety seat technicians and representatives of law enforcement agencies at a child car seat safety check in Albany County to kick off a statewide child passenger safety awareness campaign, "New York's 4 Steps 4 Kids." The event was one of 21 statewide offering free car seat inspections by certified technicians.

Governor David Paterson has proclaimed the week of September 21-27 as Child Passenger Safety Week in the Empire State, which coincides with National Child Passenger Safety Week. First Lady Paige Paterson serves as honorary spokesperson for the 4 Steps 4 Kids campaign.

"New York State is a leader in highway safety and is committed to saving lives of motorists of all ages through public information and education efforts," said First Lady Paige Paterson. "Our ultimate goal is to work toward increasing the correct use of safety restraint systems, focusing attention on the lifesaving benefits that will help reduce death and serious injury to children across the state."

New York State law requires all children under the age of 4, when passengers in a motor vehicle, to be secured in a federally approved child safety seat, and children aged 4 through 6 must be secured in an appropriate restraint system, according to the manufacturer's recommendation for size. All children between 7 and 16 must wear seat belts whenever they are passengers in any vehicle.

According to a recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 72 percent of parents do not know how to use child safety restraints properly. The GTSC reports that more than 90 percent of child safety seats checked at car seat check-up events or fitting stations were misused or not installed correctly. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injuries among children aged 0 through 9 years in New York State.

When properly used, child safety seats decrease the risk of death by 71 percent for infants (under 1 year old) and 54 percent for toddlers (ages 1 through 4), according to NHTSA. Also, a study by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia determined that children aged 4 through 7 who are properly restrained in booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in car crashes than children who are restrained only by seat belts.

Properly used child safety restraint systems are more effective than even adult seat belts are in decreasing the risk of death to passenger car occupants in the front seat. When worn correctly, according to NHTSA, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to adult front-seat occupants by 45 percent.

Deputy Commissioner Terri Egan of the DMV said, "It is the responsibility of every parent or caregiver to ensure that children utilize the proper safety restraint system. We urge everyone to have their child safety seat inspected and to follow the 4 Steps for Kids to determine the appropriate safety restraint for their child and to use them each and every time the children are passengers in a motor vehicle."

New York's 4 Steps 4 Kids determines the appropriate restraint system for children, based on age and size. They are:

• For maximum protection, infants should ride in the back seat, in rear-facing safety seats, until they are at least age 1 and 20 pounds.

• When children outgrow their rear-facing seat, they should ride in a forward-facing safety seat, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limits of the particular seat, which is typically around age 4 and 40 pounds.

• When children outgrow their forward-facing seat, they should ride in an appropriate booster seat, in the back seat, until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically at age 8 and 4-feet, 9-inches in height.

• When children outgrow their booster seat, typically at age 8 and 4-feet, 9-inches in height, they should utilize a properly fitted adult seat belt, including lap and shoulder belt, in the back seat.

Additional child passenger safety tips and information are available by visiting the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee web site (www.safeny.com) or the DMV's web site (www.nysdmv.com).

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