Nissan 'Right Fit' For Child Passenger Safety

- Snug Kids child passenger safety program celebrates 10th anniversary-

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2012 --  Nissan North America Inc. (NNA) opens its doors Oct. 5 to parents and caregivers in Middle Tennessee to offer safety tips and ensure proper installation of child safety restraint systems (CRS).

During the seat check clinic, the public is invited to have their child seats inspected by certified technicians, who will offer tips and step-by-step instructions for proper installation. The technicians, a group of 25 community responders including firefighters, police officers, and nurses, recently participated in a Nissan-hosted Child Passenger Safety Technician course to earn national certification. The event represents the commitment Nissan made a decade ago to safeguard the safety of its youngest passengers with the inception of its Snug Kids program.

Snug Kids is an industry-first program geared specifically toward safety for children in child restraint systems, or child safety seats. Not all child seats fit in all vehicles. Nissan safety engineers have spent thousands of hours evaluating hundreds of child safety seats by installing them in all the rear seats of current Nissan and Infiniti vehicles. The result is the Snug Kids Child Safety Seat Fit Guide, which helps parents confidently select a child safety seat that fits their vehicle while also providing valuable tips on the proper fit of the seat.

"Ten years after pioneering the child safety seat fit program, Snug Kids, Nissan continues to make equipping parents and caregivers with the knowledge they need to properly secure a safety seat a priority," said Bob Yakushi, director, product safety, NNA.  "Child safety seat systems save lives and should provide peace of mind and not be a source of frustration."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the use of child restraint systems has been shown to reduce traffic fatalities by 71 percent in infants and 54 percent in toddlers. Yet, in order to be effective, child restraint systems have to be installed correctly and fit properly within the vehicle.

Recently, NHTSA published a list of the top five most common errors made when installing a child restraint system. These include using the wrong harness slot, improper harness retainer/chest clip position, a loose child-restraint system installation, a loose harness strap, and improper lap belt placement.

More information about Snug Kids, upcoming events, or a download of the Child Safety Seat Fit Guide, can be found online at Nissan Snug Kids.