NHTSA 40-02
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Contact: Tim Hurd
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550
NHTSA
Announces Grant to Florida For Education on Child Passenger Safety
TALLAHASSEE, FL—The head of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., today announced a grant of $361,988 to Florida to help implement child passenger protection programs that are designed to prevent deaths and injuries to children, educate the public concerning the proper installation of child restraints, and train child passenger safety personnel on proper child restraint use.
He was joined for the announcement in Tallahassee by Florida Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, Tallahassee Police Department Chief Walter McNeil, and other federal, state and local officials. The announcement was one of a series of transportation-related events throughout the country to mark National Transportation Week, May 12-18.
"President Bush is committed to policies that protect children from harm. They are our most vulnerable passengers, and this grant will help prevent injuries among children involved in crashes,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said. “Child safety seats, when used properly, are the most effective safety devices in cars. They reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars.”
NHTSA reports that approximately 20 to 25 percent of children ages 1 through 15 years old ride unrestrained, placing them at more than twice the risk of death and injury as those restrained. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths among children for every age from 4 to 14 years.
"About 80 percent of children who are placed in child safety seats are improperly restrained, and adult safety belts do not adequately protect children ages 4 to 8 from injury in a crash," said Dr. Runge. "Through grants like this one, the states will help parents do a better job of transporting their children safely."
The grant announced today is authorized under a framework created by Section 2003(b) of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). With it Florida may fund activities such as child safety seat checkpoints at safety events and during enforcement efforts; permanent fitting stations; loaner programs; education and information outreach to rural, low-income and minority communities; education and training activities targeted to Native American tribes; education and training activities to reach children with special needs; educational outreach to elementary and secondary schools; promotion of child passenger training; and training and education for judges to promote enforcement.
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