In observance of National Child Passenger Safety Week, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) urges parents, guardians and anyone who transports children, to make sure everyone in the vehicle is properly secured each and every time.
Nationally, car crashes are a leading cause of death for children, and every 34 seconds one child under 13 is involved in a crash. Between 2013 and 2015 in Virginia, 330 children under the age of eight were injured in crashes while riding unrestrained. Another four children were tragically killed.
“It is devastating to read a crash report in which a child was killed and realize that he likely could’ve survived had he been properly secured in the vehicle,” said DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, the Governor’s Highway Safety representative. “It doesn’t matter if you are driving cross country or just around the block, please make sure your child is properly secured before you move your vehicle. And set a good example for your children by buckling up yourself.”
Virginia’s child passenger safety laws require all children under eight to be properly secured in a child safety seat or booster seat, regardless of weight or height.
In passenger cars, properly installed child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers. Booster seats reduce the risk for serious injury by 45 percent for children ages four to eight years.
For more information on making sure your child is properly secured, visit https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/safety/programs/car_seats/seat_types.asp.
