Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death for children under age 14. Under Alaska law, it is a primary offense if children under the age of 16 are not in an appropriate restraint device or safety belt during travel. Children under 4 years of age must be secured in an approved child safety seat, booster seat or safety belt, whichever is appropriate for the particular child.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 73 percent of all child passenger restraints — more than 80 percent of car seats and about 40 percent of booster seats — are used incorrectly.
It's a parent's responsibility to make sure a child's car seat is properly installed and adjusted. We're here to show you how. In a crash, a child restrained incorrectly is 3.5 times more likely to be injured than a child who is properly restrained.
Kenai Peninsula Safe Kids for the South Peninsula provides car-seat inspections throughout the year as well. Please call 235-0285 at South Peninsula Hospital to set up an appointment. An inspection is free and usually takes approximately 30 minutes. Bring your child and the owner's manuals for your vehicle and your car seat.
Kenai Peninsula Safe Kids for the South Peninsula area is part of the National Safe Kids Campaign, the first and only national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of unintentional childhood injury — the number one killer of children ages 14 and under. The campaign is made up of more than 300 state and local Safe Kids coalitions in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
This Valentine's Day make sure the one you love is buckled up correctly.
Sue Brooks, RN
Safe Kids coordinator
South Peninsula Hospital
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
