As part of National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, which runs from September 23 through 29, the Upper Allen Township Police, Buckle Up PA, and the PA Traffic Injury Prevention Project has partnered in an enforcement mobilization to help reduce child injuries and fatalities.
The mobilization is taking place from September 16 through 29, 2018, and will also highlight National Seat Check Saturday on September 29.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children. Every 33 seconds, a child under the age of 13 is involved in a crash.
In 2016, 826 children were killed in passenger vehicle crashes. Based upon known usage, 38% of those child occupants were unrestrained. Child safety seats have been shown to reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers. The best protection for all vehicle occupants is to ensure that everyone is properly restrained using age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats and seat belts.
Motorists are reminded that Pennsylvania’s primary seat-belt law requires drivers and passengers under 18 years old to buckle up, and children under the age of 4 must be properly restrained in an approved child safety seat.
– Children ages 4 to 8 must be restrained in an appropriate booster seat.
– A new law that went into effect August 2016 requires a child under 2 years of age be securely fastened in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system, which is to be used until the child outgrows the maximum weight and limits designated by the manufacturer.
– Children ages 8 to 18 must wear a seat belt when riding anywhere in the vehicle.
– Drivers and front-seat passengers 18 years-old or older are required to buckle up.
– If motorists are stopped for a traffic violation and are not wearing their seat belt, they can receive a second ticket and second fine.
The Upper Allen Police Department will join other departments and highway safety partners across the state to provide child passenger safety information, presentations, provide fitting stations and, if necessary, write citations. Police will also use Traffic Enforcement Zones, which combine enforcement patrol and checkpoint tactics on roadways with high numbers of unbuckled crashes. Citations will be issued to motorists who are caught transporting unrestrained children.
For more information on seat belt safety, visit www.penndot.gov/safety, www.upperallenpolice.com, or contact the Upper Allen Police directly at (717)795-2445.
