BURRILLVILLE – When it comes to transporting kids in a vehicle on any street, roadway or highway, the last place you ever want to put them, is in the bed of a pickup truck.
With the school year ending for vacation break, there will ultimately be a lot more vehicles on the roads this summer heading to the ocean, favorite restaurants, movies, parks and events, and especially car and truck shows across the region and nationwide. Pickup truck beds might be a cool idea for riding around in to get from point A, to point B, but it’s not a smart idea to take such a risk with your life – or anybody’s life for that matter.
Kids should be properly restrained in car seats or booster seats, and wearing seatbelts when riding in pickup trucks. If a child must ride in the front seat of any pickup truck because the model does not have a backseat and it has a safety air bag installed in the dashboard, read the vehicle manual and follow any safety requirements that manufacturer recommends for children riding in car seats, booster seats and seatbelts.
Kids love riding in trucks, but they should always do it safely.
Happy Father’s Day!
Jim Weicherding is a Burrillville resident, and the founder and creator of an award-winning traffic safety effort Seasons of Safety. Weicherding contributes kids’ coloring cartoons, which can be printed and used to help parents discuss safety issues with their children. He has a long list of police officers and firefighters in his family and has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in a creative public safety capacity for more than two decades. Jim was also appointed to Children Across America as their events and creative director for their child safety programs initiatives and outreach kids safety campaigns nationwide.
