Child Passenger Safety Week is Sept. 16 - 22

As parents it seems like we are always saving for our kids: saving for a car, saving for college, saving childhood photos. While those are worthy endeavors, when it comes to saving, nothing is more important than saving our children's lives. That's why the NW Region Missouri Coalition is sponsoring several educational events during Child Passenger Safety Week Sept. 16 - 22. "I cannot overstate the importance of buckling up and using the appropriate car seat or booster seats for children under 8 years of age," said NW MO Coalition for Roadway Safety Regional Coordinator Jackie Spainhower. "We use this week is to educate and elevate the necessity of properly securing our kids, in hopes of saving lives." The National Child Passenger Safety Week kicks off Sept. 16. During this week, the all the coalition partners want to raise awareness of the risks associated with using either a defective, outdated or improperly secured child safety restraint, by sponsoring a used child safety-seat collection day and several safety seat inspection stations.  Used Car Seat Collections (collecting deficient or expired car seats) 4:30 - 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 17: St. Joseph East Hills Mall parking lot off Woodbine St. Joseph WalMart on S Belt Hwy St. Joseph Lowe's on N Belt Hwy Those unable to attend the car seat collection may drop off their seats at MoDOT at 3602 N. Belt Hwy. or the Saint Joseph Safety Council at 118 S. 5th Street. The goal is to permanently remove damaged or expired safety seats from the marketplace. Car Seat Checks Princeton - Mercer County Health Department (by appt.), Sept. 19 St. Joseph - Lowes N Belt Hwy parking lot, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Sept. 22 Trenton - Shopko parking lot, 9 a.m. - 11 a.m., Sept. 22    "Many parents don't realize that using an expired car seat can compromise their child's safety," Spainhower said. "Unless you have specific directions from the manufacturer, the car seat label or the manual that state otherwise, you should stop using a car seat after six years. Expired car seats should be destroyed so no one uses the seat thinking it's still safe." The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's data shows that using the correct restraints reduces infants' and toddlers' chances for fatal injuries by 71 percent and 54 percent in passenger cars respectively. Turns out, as a society we are over-confident regarding our children's safety in a car. A NHTSA study indicates that three out of four kids are not as secure in the car as they should be, because their car seats are not being used correctly. Additional information about Child Passenger Safety Week can be found on the Northwest region's web page at http://www.savemolives.com/.