HALIFAX, NS— September 18-24, 2011 is Child Passenger Safety Week and this year’s theme is “Protect your child on every ride.” Child Safety Link (CSL) recently began conducting research into parental attitudes about car seats and car seat safety practices, and has found that there is still inconsistency in car seat use. That is, people are not always using car seats when travelling with their children in taxis or for short rides in other people’s cars.
“The goal of Child Passenger Safety Week is to bring attention to the importance of safely transporting children,” explains Kim Mundle, Car Seat Safety Specialist for Child Safety Link. “It doesn’t matter how short the ride is or how good a driver someone is, car crashes can happen to anyone and they can have devastating effects. We know that by properly buckling children in age- and size-appropriate car and booster seats every time they are in a vehicle, we can reduce the risk of injury and death by 70 per cent.”
As part of this year’s celebrations of Child Passenger Safety Week, CSL is launching a Maritime-wide campaign to promote car seat use in taxi cabs. All taxi companies will be offered a window cling to put in their cabs that states "Protect your child, on every ride," and shows a picture of a car seat.
“We want to remind parents that it is their responsibility to bring their car seats along for cab rides,” says Mundle, who is also educating taxi companies on what drivers can do to encourage car seat use.
“We also want to remind parents that once the cab takes you to your destination, it can be easier than you think to stow the car seats in the bottom of a shopping cart, or check them with a store’s customer service department. No one can predict when a crash will happen and the safety of your child is well-worth the extra effort.”
For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week, event listings and car seat/booster seat information, please visit Child Safety Link’s website at www.childsafetylink.ca or contact Kim Mundle, Car Seat Safety Specialist, Child Safety Link at 1-866-288-1388 extension 1 (car seats) or 902-470-7324.
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Media contact:
Julie Harrington
Julie Harrington
Public Relations Coordinator
Child Safety Link
Phone: (902) 470-7165
Email: Julie.harrington@iwk.nshealth.ca
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