Governor's Highway Safety Program Presents 10,000 Safety Seats
16 February 1999
Governor's Highway Safety Program Presents 10,000 Safety Seats To Smart Start, Department Of Insurance Safe Kids And Buckle Up Kids Programs Governor Proclaims Feb. 14-20 North Carolina Child Passenger Safety Week
RALEIGH, N.C., Feb. 15 -- Gov. Jim Hunt has announced a grant
for 10,000 child safety seats, valued at nearly $280,000, from the Governor's
Highway Safety Program (GHSP) to Smart Start partnerships and the Department
of Insurance Safe Kids coalitions and Buckle Up Kids programs. The child seats
will be distributed to eligible families across the state through these
agencies.
"It is fitting that on the day after Valentine's Day we can show our young
children how much we love them by one simple action -- making sure they are
buckled up," Gov. Jim Hunt said. "By offering the 7,190 child safety seats and
2,810 booster seats, our simple goal is to ensure our children are safe and
secure when they are passengers in a motor vehicle."
Dozens of Smart Start partnerships in the state will receive seats for
distribution. Smart Start will distribute a total of 4,763 convertible child
seats and 1,635 booster seats. The Department of Insurance Safe Kids
coalitions in 15 counties and its 69 Buckle Up Kids programs will distribute
2,427 child seats and 1,175 booster seats. These seats will be provided at no
cost to eligible low-income families.
"Through our partnership with these agencies, we can go a long way in
giving 10,000 children a good, safe start for a productive future," Hunt said.
Hunt has called for strengthening the state's child passenger safety law.
"Young children need to remain in their child seats longer. Right now children
who turn four years old are not required by law to be in a child seat --
experts say they would be better served by remaining in a child seat another
year longer and getting that extra protection a child seat provides," Hunt
said.
The child seat announcement was made today at Kidworks child care center
in Raleigh. North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long said he supported
improvements to the state's child passenger safety law and said his agency was
pleased to be a partner in this unprecedented effort. "We'll be asking local
communities and businesses to get involved in this child seat program by
contributing matching funds to purchase child seats in addition to the ones
we'll be giving out," Long said. "We want everyone to take part in the safety
of our children.
"The bottom line is child seats save lives and prevent injuries," Long
said. "A car seat can cost between $30 and $50. Yet this investment yields
savings of $85 in direct health care costs."
North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Janice Faulkner
reminded all parents to buckle up their children during child passenger safety
week and throughout the year.
"Our children must be kept free from harm and injury," Faulkner said. "We
are proud that these child seats will help keep thousands of young passengers
safe on our highways. For these devices to be effective, we must remember to
buckle up our children on every trip."
Tejan Hawkins of Raleigh received the first child seat at the event and
thanked officials for efforts to improve the lives of the state's children. "I
am going to put this seat to good use right away," he said. "You never know
when you could be in a wreck, and I want my child to be as safe as possible."
To inquire about the free safety seats, parents can call the N.C.
Partnership for Children at 919-821-7999, their local Smart Start partnership,
or the Department of Insurance Buckle Up Kids and Safe Kids programs at
1-800-634-7854. Long and GHSP Director Joe Parker will visit Greensboro,
Asheville, Statesville, Wilmington and Kinston this week to make local
announcements about the child safety seats and remind parents to buckle up
their children.
The car seats have been purchased with nearly $280,000 in federal money
earmarked for traffic safety in North Carolina through the GHSP.
Hunt has also proclaimed Feb. 14-20, 1999, as Child Passenger Safety Week
in North Carolina and urged families to keep their children safe and always
buckle them up in a child safety seat or seat belt. In 1997, 12 children
under age 4 died in North Carolina crashes; four were unrestrained. Another 21
unbuckled children under age 4 suffered serious injuries. In addition, 31
children ages 4 through 11 died; 20 were not restrained. There were 111
unbuckled children ages 4 through 11 who received serious injuries in car
crashes.
According to state law, children less than age 12 must be buckled up in a
motor vehicle regardless of seating position. Children less than age 4 must be
properly secured in a correctly installed safety seat. Since the state's
"Click It or Ticket" seat belt campaign started in 1993, law enforcement
officers have issued more than 18,000 safety seat citations.
GHSP Director Parker said improvements to the state's child passenger
safety and seat belt laws could save an additional 90 lives each year and
prevent 800 injuries if the state's seat belt use rate reached 90 percent.
Parker reminded parents that the back seat is the safest place for
children of any age to ride. In North Carolina, children age 12 and under are
twice as likely to be killed in the front seat as in the back seat. "Infants
in rear-facing child safety seats should never ride in the front seat of a
vehicle with a passenger air bag," Parker said.
The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center has a
toll-free telephone line (1-800-672-4527) for parents who want to know about
the proper use of safety seats or about the state's child passenger and seat
belt laws. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration operates a
toll-free Auto Safety Hotline (1-800-424-9393) to answer consumer questions
concerning child safety seat and to supply current information on which car
seats have been recalled.
North Carolina's "Please Be Seated" program allows motorists who witness
unrestrained children to educate others about the child passenger safety laws.
Reports can be made by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-800-999-9676 or by
completing and mailing a card.
