North Carolina is observing Child Passenger Safety Week

Children are the most precious cargo you will ever have in your car, truck or SUV as you drive around Charlotte. Whether they are your kids or your grandchildren or someone else’s kids, they all deserve to handled with care.

That is part of the reason North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has declared this to be Child Passenger Safety Week. The goal is to reduce the number of car accidents resulting in injuries to children and others. The designated observation lasts through this Sunday, September 24.

According to a news article on Child Safety Week, motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of fatalities for children under 13 years old. The report states that about 36,000 North Carolina kids are involved in traffic accidents every year.

Shockingly, about one fourth of those crashes result in at least one death because the children were not restrained in seat belts or child car seats, the governor’s office said.

A reminder of the law: all kids under age 8 (who weigh less than 80 lbs.) are required to be in a child car seat.

Unfortunately, a recent study published in the Journal of Pediatrics determined that about 95 percent of families do not use the child safety seats properly.

Experts urge drivers to allow no more than an inch of wiggle room for a child in a safety seat. Also, all infants and toddlers should be in rear-facing seats until they’re at least two years old. You are urged to follow manufacturers’ recommendations on height and weight.

We hope all children stay safe on our streets this week and in all weeks to follow.