CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY WEEK IN LAREDO
Written by Post Public Information Representative, Sep 20, 2016, Comments Off
Courtesy Raul Leal,
LAREDO, Tx – “Children are our most precious resource,” said City of Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz as he proclaimed Child Passenger Safety Week (September 18-24, 2016) in Laredo at City Hall. This event, sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and collaborating agencies, brings child passenger safety to the forefront; all to educate encourage families to properly secure their children in appropriate child safety seats, booster seats and seat belts.
Present at the event were representatives from TxDOT, Webb County Constables Precinct 1 and the Laredo Police Department.
Although great strides have been made statewide and locally to ensure children are properly restrained in child car seats, families are still not buckling up their children correctly resulting in serious injury in a crash.
Every year, thousands of children are tragically injured or killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. It is hard to overstate the toll this takes on families.
In 2015, 83 children younger than 8 years old were killed in crashes in Texas. In 2014, that number was 81. A study released in 2015 by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute reports all most half (46.1 percent) of children from birth to four years of age riding in Texas vehicles are either improperly buckled or not buckled at all.
Child safety seats help save lives and reduce injuries, and most effective when installed and used correctly. Common child safety seat errors include: installing the seat too loosely; putting the harness straps through the wrong slots; leaving harness straps too loose; positioning the chest clip incorrectly; and using the wrong seat belt path.
Texas law requires all children under 8 years old – unless they are taller than 4 feet 9 inches – to be in a child safety seat whenever they ride in a passenger vehicle, and all children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the back seat. Failure to properly restrain a child can result in a ticket up to $250.
All parents and caregivers are encouraged to ensure that their children are getting the very best protection by participating at a Child Passenger Safety Child Seat Inspection Event on Saturday, September 24, 2016 from 8:30-11:30 a.m. at the Texas Dept. of Transportation Laredo District Office facility located at 1817 Bob Bullock Loop.
“Our main goal is to insure children leave safer than they arrive at Saturday’s child seat check event,” said, Blanca Trevino-Castro, Laredo District Traffic Safety Specialist at today’s proclamation.
Participating agencies include Texas Department of Transportation, District Attorney for Webb and Zapata Counties, Webb Co. Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Place 2, Webb Co. Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Place 2, Webb County Constables Precinct 1 & 2, Texas Department of Public Safety, Laredo Police Dept., Laredo Fire Dept., Texas Dept. of State Health Services Safe Riders and Hygeia Dairy Company of Laredo.
