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 Each year NYCDOT���s Safety Education Unit checks over 1,000 car seats to ensure they are installed properly and helps teach hundreds of families about child passenger safety. |
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Securing our Most Precious Cargo
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children ages 2 to 14, due in large part to the nonuse or improper use of child seats and seat belts. At DOT, we work with parents to ensure every child is properly secured and safe every trip, every time.
Follow These 4 Easy Steps to Protect New York City's Children
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REAR-FACING SEATS in the back seat from birth to at least 1 year old and at least 20 pounds. |
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FORWARD-FACING TODDLER SEATS in the back seat from age 1 and 20 pounds to about age 4 and 40 pounds. |
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BOOSTER SEATS in the back seat from about age 4 to at least age 8, unless 4'9" tall. |
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SAFETY BELTS at age 8 and older or taller than 4'9". All children age 12 and under should ride in the back seat. |
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According to the Centers for Disease Control
- In the United States during 2005, 1,335 children ages 14 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and approximately 184,000 were injured. That���s an average of 4 deaths and 504 injuries each day.
- Among children under age 5, in 2006, an estimated 425 lives were saved by car and booster seat use.
What are the risk factors?
- One out of four occupant deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years involved a drinking driver. More than two-thirds of these fatally injured children were riding with a drinking driver.
- Restraint use among young children often depends upon the driver���s seat belt use. Almost 40% of children riding with unbelted drivers were themselves unrestrained.
- Child restraint systems are often used incorrectly. One study found that 72% of nearly 3,500 observed car and booster seats were misused in a way that could be expected to increase a child���s risk of injury during a crash.
How can injuries to children in motor vehicles be prevented?
- Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 years.
- There is strong evidence that child safety seat laws, safety seat distribution and education programs, community-wide education and enforcement campaigns, and incentive-plus-education programs are effective in increasing child safety seat use.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends booster seats for children until they are at least 8 years of age or 4'9" tall.
- According to researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, for children 4 to 7 years, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to seat belts alone.
- All children ages 12 years and younger should ride in the back seat. Adults should avoid placing children in front of airbags. Putting children in the back seat eliminates the injury risk of deployed front passenger-side airbags and places children in the safest part of the vehicle in the event of a crash.
- Overall, for children less than 16 years, riding in the back seat is associated with a 40% reduction in the risk of serious injury. To learn more about effective interventions to increase child safety seat use, visit CDC's Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety page.
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Forward this email to a friend and tell them to sign up for monthly safety tips from DOT's Office of Safety Education, at: www.nyc.gov/dotnews.
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Upcoming Events
Make sure your car safety seat is installed correctly. Call 311 or check our website, www.nyc.gov/dot, for information on making an appointment at one of our car safety seat inspection stations, or come to a car seat check event.
Saturday, March 28th
10:00 am ��� 2:00 pm
Bruno Trucks, 435 Hamilton Avenue, Brooklyn. No appointment is necessary for the March 28th event.
Saturday, April 11
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Chevy Saturn of Harlem, Chevy Saturn service area, 127 Street between 2 - 3 Avenues, Manhattan. No appointment necessary.
Saturday, May 9
11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Chevy Saturn of Harlem, Chevy Saturn service area, 127 Street between 2 - 3 Avenues, Manhattan. No appointment necessary.
A trained car seat technician will check your seat and demonstrate correct installation. No appointment is necessary. If you cannot attend these events call 311 for an appointment for a free child car seat inspection at a DOT Fitting Station. Please note that we cannot accept walk-ins. DOT Child Car Seat Fitting Station locations can be found here.
Bike Helmet Giveaways and Fittings
DOT will give away free bike helmets while supplies last on Saturday, May 2 from noon to 4 pm at Earth Day Rockaway, on the Boardwalk at 29th Street, Rockaway, Queens.
You must be present to get a helmet and you must learn how to properly fit and wear it before you receive it. Adults over 18 receiving a helmet must sign a waiver, and a parent or legal guardian must be present to sign a waiver for children under age 18. Supplies are limited. If you cannot attend this event, you can schedule a fitting for an NYC helmet at one of the DOT's Safety Cities by calling 311.
For a complete list of events see NYCDOT's event calendar.
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More Safety Resources
4 Steps for Kids
Protect your child in the car by taking these 4 steps
English
Spanish
Use It
Information about the importance of using safety belts and car safety seats on every ride
Available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Urdu, Russian and Korean
American Academy of Pediatrics��� Car Seat Guide
NHTSA���s Child Passenger Safety Center
Safe Kids USA���s Child Passenger Safety Tips
AAA���s Car Seat Loan Program
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