/24-7PressRelease/ - LOCKHART, TX, February 26, 2008 - Texas State University-San Marcos students with the "Rock the Belt" seat belt safety campaign are teaming up with Safe Kids Austin, led by the Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, and Glosserman Chevrolet to hold a Car Seat Safety Check-up Event. This free event will be held in the parking lot of H.E.B. located on Colorado Street on Feb. 29, 2008 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
An estimated 85 percent of children who are placed in child safety seats and booster seats are improperly restrained. Misuse includes, but is not limited to, using an inappropriate seat for a child's age and size, placing an infant under 1 year or under 20 pounds in a forward-facing seat, not securing the seat tightly in the vehicle and not securing the child correctly in the seat.
Car crashes are the leading killer of children under 14. "Under Texas law, all children under 5 years of age and 36 inches tall must be restrained in an appropriate car seat every time they ride in a car," states Safe Kids Austin Coordinator, Tareka Wheeler.
However, Safe Kids Austin and the "Rock The Belt" campaign want parents to know that's not enough. Children are safest when they ride in car seats until they outgrow the harnesses, and then transition to a seat belt used with a booster seat until they are at least 4'9" tall, usually around age 8. Properly used, a car seat reduces the risk of death by 71% for rear-facing infants and 54% for forward-facing toddlers.
At the scheduled check-up event, parents are encouraged to bring his or her child or children, the car seat or seats they currently use, the vehicle owner's manual and the car seat instructions. Nationally certified child passenger safety technicians will be present to help drivers understand children's vehicle safety needs, based on their ages, weights and developmental stages.
Don't let your child become a statistic. According to Safe Kids USA, the motto for every event is, "Children Leave Safer than When They Arrived!"
For more information, visit www. safekids.org and http://www.rockthebelt.ning.com
About Rock the Belt
We are public relations students from Texas State University-San Marcos that are part of the PRSSA Bateman Competition team. Our mission is to implement a seat belt safety campaign in the city of Lockhart, TX, targeting children 11-14.
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