I hope my story encourages parents to always buckle up their kids regardless of the situation. You don’t want to feel the pain or grief I am going through. The sadness is overwhelming, even after a year.
Our new study helps answer some of the questions parents have about when to switch from a booster seat to just a seat belt. We surveyed 1,000 parents of children ages 4 to 10 and found that an alarming number of parents are allowing kids to use a seat belt alone before they are big enough. In fact, 7 in 10 parents do not know that a child should be at least 57 inches (4’9”) to ride in a car without a booster seat.
Sometimes we do something and have no idea what the long term consequences might be.
I took the Child Passenger Safety Certification Course in 1998. It was one of the original courses offered and I traveled all the way from Louisiana to Texas to be one of the first people to get certified to correctly install and check car seats.
During our Safe Kids Worldwide leadership conference, I spent the day with several of our international partners, who traveled to Washington, D.C. to share and learn about the best ways to keep kids safe.
This week, as part of Child Passenger Safety Week (September 15-21), we’re teaming up with the General Motors Foundation to help parents protect their most precious cargo.