Auto Dealers Back Child Passenger Safety with Program this September

July 12, 2005

The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has proclaimed this September as Child Passenger Safety Month.

New car dealers across the country will host child safety seat inspections at their dealerships to help save lives, as part of NADA’s
national “Boost for Safety” campaign, a program developed in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The September initiative is planned to coincide with the back-to-school
timeframe, when many children will be on the roads each day.

“It’s a national tragedy that so many of our young people are injured or
killed in vehicle crashes every year, and auto dealers want to do something about it,” said Jack Kain, NADA chairman and a Kentucky new car dealer. “We hope others will join us in this important effort to educate parents and their kids about the need to buckle up safely every time they ride in the car,” he added.

More than 40,000 child passengers under age four are injured or killed in car crashes annually, according to NHTSA. The Agency reports that more than 50,000 children between four and eight years old are injured or killed riding in cars annually. Approximately 40 percent of children under the age of eight who die or suffer serious injuries in fatal car crashes are completely unrestrained.

In October 2004, NADA members throughout the U.S. hosted child safety seat events at their dealerships in the kickoff year for the “Boost for Safety” Campaign. During the month, thousands of parents received instruction by certified child seat technicians on how to properly secure their children in the car.

For more information on child seat safety and the “Boost for Safety”
Campaign, visit http://www.nada.org/boostforsafety.