National Child Passenger Safety Week September 14-20, 2014

September 18, 2014

The Marshall County Sheriff's Office and Marshalltown Police Department want to remind parents that this week is National Child Passenger Safety Week.

This is a good time for everyone to help ensure that our children are being properly restrained in vehicles when traveling on our roadways.

Several key points to remember about Child Passenger Safety:

• Children must be in rear-facing child safety seats until they are at least 1 year old AND weigh 20 pounds
• Children must use some form of child safety seat (front-facing or booster) until they reach age 6 and can properly fit the vehicle seat belt. (Proper fit of the seat belt means knees bend at the front edge of seat and the lap belt sits across legs or hips, not the stomach, and shoulder belt is across the shoulder, not the neck or face.)
• Children should use booster seats until they are at least 4'9" tall (even if they are over age 6)
• All children under age 18 must wear a seat belt in any seating position in the vehicle
• All children should ride in the back seat until at least 13 years of age
• Parents should register their child safety seat with the manufacturer in order to be notified of important safety recalls or updates

It is important to help make sure children are safe when riding in vehicles. Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children 1-13 years old. Statistically, every 34 seconds, one child under age 13 is involved in a crash. From 2008-2012, more than 3,390 children were killed in car crashes and an estimated 613,000 were injured. We can't stress enough the importance of buckling up. Over 1/3 of children killed in car crashes were not restrained. Car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers.

The MCSO and MPD have five nationally-certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians available to assist with child passenger safety. Technicians offer FREE assistance with installation of new seats, inspections or adjustments of existing seats, installing replacement or recalled parts, or answering general questions about child restraint systems. Technicians are also available for public education presentations about child passenger safety. Technicians will make sure the car seat properly fits the child and the vehicle. There are also a limited number of replacement seats available for damaged, expired, or recalled seats. Please contact us for assistance or questions.

Deputy Ben Veren
Marshall County Sheriff's Office
(641)754-6380
bveren@co.marshall.ia.us

Sergeant Rick Bellile
Marshalltown Police Dept.
(641) 754-5733
rbellile@cimarshalltown.ia.us

About Marshall County Sheriff's Office
The Marshall County, Iowa Sheriff's Office is lead by Sheriff Ted G. Kamatchus. Sheriff Kamatchus is committed to keeping communities and neighborhoods safe in Marshall County.

For additional information or a sample copy, contact:
Deputy Ben Veren, Traffic Safety Officer
Marshall County Sheriff's Office
641-754-6380
Fax 641-754-6325
Sheriff@co.marshall.ia.us
www.marshallcountysheriff.com

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