SACRAMENTO,
Calif. – The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is enhancing its efforts to help ensure
children are safely secured while traveling California’s roadways. The CHP has
partnered with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to implement the “California
Restraint Safety Education and Training” (CARSEAT) campaign, boosted by a
$850,000 federal grant.
The
yearlong CARSEAT campaign focuses on reducing the number of children injured or
killed in traffic crashes throughout California. To help accomplish this goal, the CHP will
host educational seminars, classes, and child safety seat inspections. These
efforts will highlight the importance of child passenger restraint by providing
education on the proper installation of child passenger safety seats.
“Ensuring
the safety of our youngest passengers begins with a simple but critical act –
securing them in properly installed child safety seats,” said CHP Commissioner
Sean Duryee. “It is the single most
effective way to protect a child in a vehicle crash.”
California law requires a child to be properly
restrained in an appropriate child safety seat in the rear seat of a vehicle
until they are at least 8 years of age. Children
under 2 years of age should ride in a rear-facing car seat unless the child
weighs 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall.
For
more information regarding child passenger safety, child safety seats, and seat
belt regulations, please contact your local CHP Area office.
Funding
for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic
Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The mission of the CHP is to provide the highest level of Safety,
Service, and Security.
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