Announcement: National Child Passenger Safety Week — September 13–19, 2015

This year, National Child Passenger Safety Week is September 13–19. In the United States, motor vehicle–related injuries are a leading cause of death among children (1). In 2013, a total of 638 passenger vehicle occupants aged 0–12 years died as a result of a crash (2), and more than 127,250 were injured (1). Of the children that died in 2013, 38% were known to be unrestrained (2). To keep child passengers as safe as possible, drivers should properly restrain children aged <13 years in age- and size-appropriate restraints in a back seat and follow the American Academy of Pediatrics' child passenger safety recommendations (3).

As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, September 19 has been designated as National Seat Check Saturday. On this day, drivers with children who ride in car seats or booster seats are encouraged to visit a child safety seat inspection station to have a certified technician inspect their car seat for proper installation and proper use free of charge. Additional information and an inspection station locator are available from CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS. Campaign promotional materials in English and Spanish are available at http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/cps.

References

1. CDC. Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Available at www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars.
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Traffic safety facts 2013 data—occupant protection. Available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812153.pdf.
3. Durbin DR; Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. Child passenger safety. Pediatrics 2011;127:e1050–66.