More Child Seats To Be Made Available to Low Income Families

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala today, and former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman James E. Hall yesterday, signed a letter of intent pledging their agencies to work together to increase the availability of child safety seats for low-income families.

"Child safety seats are the most effective safety device available to protect children in car crashes, and we should do all we can to ensure that these devices are available to everyone," Secretary Slater said. "Improved transportation safety is one of the important legacies of the Clinton-Gore administration, and this pledge will help to continue the momentum toward this important goal."

Transportation-related injuries remain the leading cause of death for all children older than a year, with more than 2,000 children dying each year. Six out of ten children who die in crashes are completely unrestrained.

"HHS has made the improvement of children's health and welfare a top priority," said Secretary Shalala. "One important thing we can do is to work with and support families to ensure that every child is secured in a child safety seat. Bringing together the Department of Transportation, NTSB and HHS will help make this happen."

"We need to ensure that all children are provided with the same high level of safety -- no matter their parents' income level or ethnic background," former NTSB Chairman Hall said. "That's the American way - and it signifies the value our society places on human life."

The pledge states that because of economic disparity, low-income families have limited access to child safety seats and booster seats, and that "this is an American tragedy that cannot be allowed to continue."

The two secretaries and former NTSB chairman agreed that their staffs will jointly seek ways to facilitate equal access to child safety seats for children from all economic backgrounds. This may include developing and sharing information to document costs and benefits, conducting outreach and public education among the target groups who can most benefit from improved child occupant safety, working with key national partners and leaders in the field of child passenger safety, and using other means to advance the goal.

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