News Release

Date 09/10/09

For Immediate Release: National Child Passenger Safety Week

The Springfield Police Department reminds motorists to:

Buckle Up Children and Arrive Alive

Car crashes are the number one killer of children. During the last three years in Missouri, 56 children were killed and 437 more suffered disabling injuries in motor vehicle crashes.

Members of the Springfield Police Department are joining forces with law enforcement agencies across the state, September 12-19, to participate in the National Child Protection Safety Campaign. During this campaign officers will be cracking down on Missouri’s child safety seat law violators in an attempt to reduce highway fatalities and injuries to children.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that child safety seats reduce the risk of being killed in a car crash by 71 percent for an infant and by 54 percent for a toddler. This is why all 50 states have laws that require the use of child safety restraints.

Regular child safety seat and safety belt use is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes.
For information, visit the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety.

 

Media Contact: Lt. Faye Barksdale 417-864-1723

Release authorized by: Lt. Faye Barksdale