Chief Brian Kyes
19 Park St.
Chelsea, MA 02150
For Immediate Release
Monday, Sept. 21, 2015
Contact: Captain Keith Houghton
Phone: 617-828-5722
Email: KHoughton@chelseama.gov
Chelsea Police Provide Child Seat Safety Tips
CHELSEA — To keep children safe while riding in a motor vehicle, Chief Brian Kyes and the Chelsea Police Department are asking residents to consider several key safety tips regarding car seats and boosters.
The Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law requires that all children sit in a federally approved car seat or booster, which must be properly fastened and secured, until they are 8 years old or over 57 inches tall. It is recommended that children under the age of 13 ride in the back seat.
All infants and toddlers should be in rear-facing car seats until they reach the age of 2 years old, or the weight and height limit issued by the manufacturer. Toddlers and preschoolers should be placed in convertible and forward-facing seats equipped with a harness. Once school-aged children outgrow their forward-facing seats, they should sit in a booster until they are old enough to wear a seat belt.
“The safety of our children is a top priority,” Chief Kyes said. “A huge part of this means ensuring that children are properly buckled into an appropriate child safety seat that has been correctly installed in the vehicle. Please review these safety tips to be sure your child’s seat is safe.”
According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, 75 percent of child safety seats are installed incorrectly, and motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death and injury for all children. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that 638 children 12 years old and younger were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2013, and that more than 127,250 were injured.
Properly securing your child in an age and size appropriate car seat greatly lowers the risk of serious and fatal injuries. The CDC reports that:
- Car seats reduce the risk of death to infants by 71 percent, and to toddlers between ages 1 to 4 by 54 percent.
- Booster seats decrease the risk for serious injury by 45 percent for children 4 to 8 years old when compared with solely seat belt use.
Click here for a message on child safety seats from mass.gov.
For more information on child car seat safety or need help with installation please contact the Chelsea Police Department at 617-466-4855 or to find a checkup event, visit www.mass.gov/childsafetyseats.
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