Keep Kids Safe- What we Learned from Child Passenger Safety Week

September 15, 2015

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a recent study shows that 80 percent of parents think it is important to return car seat registration cards, but only 42 percent had actually returned the card.* September 13 through the 19th marks Child Passenger Safety Week, and the US Department of Transportation and other organizations and agencies across the country are teaming up to let parents know how important the child car seat is as a safety device during an auto accident.

Here are the major points to be aware of when it comes to child car seats:

• Register your car seat: According to the US Department of Transportation, more than 6 million car seats were recalled for safety defects in 2014. These types of recalls are why it is so important to register your child’s car seat, so that you will know when a recall occurs.
• Registering should be easy: For most car seat purchases, included should be a registration card with the postage already paid. When you fill this out and drop it in the mailbox, you can ensure that you are notified in the event the car seat is recalled.
• NHTSA lets you register online: Let’s face it, most of us complete our to-do list items electronically. Though a postage-paid registration card is simple enough, its non-electronic nature makes it easy to forget or put off. Fortunately, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration created this website, where you can register your car seat online.
• Even a non-defective car seat is safe only if used properly: Remember to read all the way through the installation instructions before putting the car seat in your vehicle. And as is the case with anyone in the car, your child is safe only when properly buckled into the seat.

The NHTSA continues to work with the manufacturers of car seats to make sure parents and guardians are provided with prompt repair or replacement when they receive a recall notice. The agency has also created Parents Central, a comprehensive website with information about how to keep your children safe while they are traveling in vehicles.