National Passenger Safety Week is taking place from September 18th to the 24th. During this time, the Illinois State Police (ISP) will be continuing its efforts to help keep child passengers safe in the event of a car accident in Chicago or elsewhere in the state. During the 2011 safety campaign, the Department of Human Services will be joining the ISP to conduct a number of events and child seat inspections to help parents to learn how to properly buckle a child in a motor vehicle.ISP Trooper Mindy Carroll says that all parents and guardians are encouraged to attend these events and to have their child’s car seat inspected by a certified technician. During this time, parents will be taught how to properly buckle in a child’s car seat. Recent statistics show that roughly 75 percent of child seats are improperly installed into motor vehicles.
Our Illinois child injury attorneys ask that all parents do their part to help keep our children safe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were nearly 1,500 children who were age 14-years-old or younger who were killed and another 180,000 who were injured in motor-vehicle accidents in 2009 in the U.S. We would also like to point out that nearly 250 child lives ages 4 and younger were saved in 2008 because they were properly buckled in their child seat. When these seats are used properly, they can reduce the risk of death by more than 70 percent for infants. The seats have the ability to decrease the risk of death for toddlers aged 1- to 4-years-old by more than 50 percent. Booster seats can reduce the risk of injury for children ages 4- to 7-years-old by nearly 60 percent.
“It’s very important the car seat is secured properly inside the car and the child is secured properly inside the seat,” says Carroll.
According to Carroll, the ISP follows the most recent child car seat recommendations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Carroll goes on to instruct Illinois parents to keep all children that are under the age of 13 in the back seat. She also suggests that you keep your child in a rear-facing car seat for as long as they’re within the seat’s height and weight limits as set forth by the manufacturer.
Illinois has enacted the Child Passenger Protection Act to further its efforts to keep our child passengers safe. This Act holds parents and guardians responsible for keeping children under the age of 8 safely and properly restrained in a child-safety seat. If you’re busted with a child passenger who is not properly restrained, you can face a $75 fine for the first conviction. Illinois will waive the fee if you can prove that you have purchased or received an approved child seat and have had a technician properly install it into the vehicle.
If you or your child has been injured in a Chicago car accident, contact Abels & Annes for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call (866) 99-ABELS. There is no fee unless you win.
More Blog Entries:
Two Children Injured in a Three-Car Accident in Illinois, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, August 16, 2011
New Car Seat Regulations to Increase Child Safety in Chicago Car Accidents, Chicago Car Accident Lawyers Blog, March 22, 2011