National Child Passenger Safety Week Begins Feb. 8

During CPS Week Alone an Estimated 23 Kids Will Die in Vehicle Crashes(1) Free Child Passenger Safety Resources are Available - SeatCheck -- 1-866-Seat-Check or www.seatcheck.org - Fit for a Kid -- 1-877-Fit-4-A-Kid or www.fitforakid.org

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 8 -- National Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Week, February 8-14, is a time when safety advocates encourage the nation to focus on keeping children safe in vehicles. It also is an important time for everyone to do their part to remind parents of the risks their children face when kids are not properly secured in a child safety seat and direct parents to free resources to help them safely install and use child safety seats correctly.

Traffic crashes remain the number one killer of kids. Despite the efforts of conscientious parents who use child safety seats, many of them are not using the seats correctly and do not know it. A survey commissioned by Chrysler Group found that 97 percent of parents believe that they always correctly use and install child safety seats.(2) Yet, field studies show that eight out of ten children in safety seats are not buckled in properly. This puts them at needless risk of serious injury or death in the event of a crash.

"Despite the hard work of many, children continue to die in car crashes because they are not properly secured in child safety seats. In 2002, 1,214 children died and 150,000 were injured in vehicle crashes," said Deborah Morrissett, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Chrysler Group. "By making sure children are properly buckled in, parents can better protect their children."

Chrysler Group can help. It offers two free services and informational Web sites to assist parents: SeatCheck, a toll-free hotline and Web site listing more than 3,000 child seat inspection stations across the country; and Fit for a Kid, a dealer-based child safety seat inspection service.

To find a listing of child safety seat inspection locations in addition to Fit for a Kid dealers, parents can call toll free 1-866-SEAT-CHECK or log onto www.seatcheck.org. Chrysler Group sponsors SeatCheck with the support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), National Safety Council (NSC), Lamaze International, Graco Children's Products, Toys 'R Us and Babies 'R Us.

To find a participating Fit for a Kid dealer, parents can call toll-free 1-877-Fit-4-a-Kid or log on to www.fitforakid.org. Safety seat inspections are available by appointment at participating Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep(R) dealers for anyone, regardless of make or model vehicle they drive. Chrysler sponsors the program along with the NSC, Lamaze International and Graco Children's Products.

The NSC's Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and NHTSA strongly recommend that children 12 and under ride properly restrained in rear seats. That includes infants in rear-facing seats, children in convertible seats, children in booster seats, and children restrained by seat belts. Research has found that rear seats are 30 to 35 percent safer.(3) According to NHTSA, child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers (1-4 years old).(4) A child too big for a child safety seat, those between the ages of 4 and 8, should ride in a booster seat until they have reached 4' and 9" in height.

  (1) Traffic Safety Facts 2002, A Compilation of Motor Vehicle Crash Data
      from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the General Estimates
      System, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children ages
      0-9, 2002.

  (2) The national telephone survey, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies
      of Alexandria, Va., was of 500 adult drivers who transport children 8
      years of age or younger at least twice a week.  The survey was
      conducted January 26-28, 2002.  The sample was drawn proportional to
      the number of adults in each state, with a margin of error of +/-
      4.38% at the 95% confidence interval.

  (3) Nichols, James L. Ph.D., Child Passenger Safety: A Review of Post-1996
      Trends, August 2003.

  (4) Traffic Safety Facts 2002 Children, National Highway Traffic Safety
      Administration.