Is Your Child’s Car Seat Safe? A Texas Guide to Avoiding Dangers
The week of September 15 through September 21, 2024, is National Child Passenger Safety Week. If you have young children and they ride in a vehicle with you, they must be properly buckled into their own child safety seat. In Texas, it's the law.
Unfortunately, half of all car seats in Texas are installed wrong. We must check our children's car seats to ensure they are installed correctly for the safety of the child. The Texas Department of Transportation has tools online to educate parents on how to properly secure their children in their car safety seats.
Know the Laws and Abide By Them
Texas Transportation Code 545.412 states: "All children younger than 8 years old, and under 4’9” tall, are required to be in the appropriate child safety seat system whenever they ride in any passenger vehicle. The safety seat system MUST be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. See the video below to learn exactly how to install it correctly. Source: TxDOT
The Texas Department of Transportation’s “Save Me With a Seat” campaign will train caregivers in this regard, coinciding with National Child Passenger Safety Week.
“It’s extremely important that parents schedule a car seat check today,” said TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams. “Ensuring car seats are installed correctly is one of the most important things a parent or caregiver can do to protect the smallest occupants in a crash.” Around 46% of all car seats are misused as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Source:TxDot
The campaign is inviting all parents to make sure that they schedule a free car seat safety check by visiting SaveMeWithASeat.org, entering your ZIP code, and then locating the nearest TxDOT traffic safety specialist in your area. TxDOT offers free car seat safety checks all year round.
Fines For Not Buckling Properly Could Be As High As $250
The “Save Me With a Seat” campaign reminds us that Texas law requires all children to sit in a child's car seat whenever they are riding in all passenger vehicles. Failure to properly restrain your child will result in a ticket and fines up to $250.
The sad part is that last year alone, nearly 70 children under the age of 8 years old died in traffic crashes in Texas alone, and 16 of those were unrestrained at the time of the crash. If you want to learn more about car seat safety see the video below or click on Save Me With A Seat. Remember to drive safe, y'all.
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