BURRILLVILLE – This weekend ends the Buckleupallofus Cross Your Heart Week Child Passenger Safety Campaign. It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and it’s very important that everyone is reminded about buckle up safety regarding children of all ages.
The safest place for children to be properly restrained in family vehicles is in the backseat. Rear-facing car seats are required for infants and toddlers. Booster seats and seatbelts are required for children 12-years-old and younger depending on the height and weight of your child or children. Booster seats and seatbelts usages vary depending on individual child growth and development. No specific age can properly determine what any particular child must use to remain safe while riding in the backseat. You can check your local police department’s website, or federal and state highway and traffic safety websites for accurate guidelines required for your individual child or children. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website is a great vehicle safety website resource. The US Department of Highway Safety website is also a great resource for child passenger safety requirements and regulations by state.
With school vacation week this week, there will more than likely be more kids riding in family vehicles with parents and guardians. Please make sure that they are safely and properly restrained in vehicle backseats on every ride regardless of the distance travelled to and from your destination.
Parents and guardians remember to cross your heart with your seatbelts too. Somebody loves you.
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.
