Over the past 10 years, Daniel Stark Law has been a passionate supporter of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s National Child Passenger Safety Week events, providing nearly 800 car seats the last 10 years to ensure local children are as safe as possible on the roads. More than 100 volunteers, including Daniel Stark Law staff, will work the event this Saturday from 8:30am-11am in the parking lot of Target in Bryan to inspect child safety seats for free. Daniel Stark Law will once again pick up the tab to replace any seats that are damaged or no longer appropriate for a child’s height and weight.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 2 to 14 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Review Fact Sheet, and there is no denying that child passenger restraints help save lives. NHTSA studies estimates that safety seats reduce risk of death by 71% for infants (less than one year-old) and by 54% for toddlers (one to four years old) in passenger cars.
But using a child safety seat is just the first step, as it must be installed and used correctly to give the most protection to your most precious cargo.
More than 81% of child restraints are used incorrectly, including 88% of forward-facing toddler seats, 86% of rear-facing infant seats, and 85% of safety belts, as determined by Child Passenger Seat Inspection Stations across the country, according to a study done by the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. The same survey concluded that a third of children (33%) ages 14 and under ride in the wrong restraint-type for their age and size.
That’s why Daniel Stark Law continues to support this effort.
“When I had young children, I was always worried that our car seat might not be installed correctly, and I know that I’m not the only parent with those concerns. That’s why we started supporting this initiative, to make sure kids are traveling safely,” said Daniel Stark Law, PC, Partner, Danny Daniel.
All of those numbers are scary enough, but the issue became a harsh reality earlier this year when one young family who attended last year’s car seat inspection event were involved in a major collision. The crash was serious and totaled the single mother’s vehicle, but her little boy didn’t have a single scratch on him.
“Had they not attended the event and received a new car seat that was the right size and installed properly, who knows what would have happened. Keeping precious children like that little boy safe is why we continue supporting this event.”
The event begins at 8:30am on Saturday morning and lasts until 11am. All parents and grandparents with car seats and children with them may have their safety seats inspected.
