September 20, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Public Safety: (COLUMBUS, Ohio) – National Child Passenger Safety Week is September 15-21, 2024 and The Ohio Traffic Safety Office (OTSO) is reminding parents and caregivers that children are best protected in a crash when they are buckled correctly in the right seats for their ages and sizes.
This week, OTSO visited Richardson Elementary school in Cuyahoga Falls to observe the new “Buckle Up with Brutus” safety education program created for second and third grade students. The program aims to educate students and families about the importance of wearing a seat belt and using a booster seat. During the presentation, a school resource officer leads students in a series of safety lessons and activities that were designed by OTSO, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and The Ohio State University. The program is being launched statewide for the 2024-2025 school year.
Resources are available online now at http://www.Buckleup.ohio.gov.
“This program doesn’t just teach students safety laws, it also reinforces and educates parents,” said Emily Davidson, OTSO’s Executive Director. “We know that buckling up is the simplest step anyone can take to limit injuries, or even save their life when a crash happens.”
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children, and the latest research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that 46% of child safety seats are misused. Common issues include children being in the wrong type of child safety seats for their age and size, and car seats being installed improperly — both of which leave children vulnerable to injury in a crash.
- Of the child passengers (age 13 and under) killed in crashes in Ohio last year, 44% were unrestrained.
- 84 children in Ohio were seriously injured in 2023 because they were not wearing a seat belt or using a car seat or booster seat – the highest number in 5 years.
Car seats and booster seats have height and weight limits, and children should stay in each seat until they outgrow those limits. It’s also important for all children under 13 to ride in the back seat as air bags are designed for adult passengers in the front seat.
For more information on child passenger safety, go to NHTSA.gov/therightseat.
