“Love Me, Buckle Me, in the Right Seat at the Right Time”

Planning an Event for Child Passenger Safety Week? For more information click here.

Child Passenger Safety Week is dedicated to raising awareness for the need to secure children safely in a vehicle on every trip, every time. Every parent wants to protect their children and keep them safe. The 2021 Child Passenger Safety Week theme, “Love Me, Buckle Me, in the Right Seat at the Right Time,” highlights the importance of selecting a size-appropriate car seat for every child and using it correctly every time. 

Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading killer of children.  Parents and caregivers want to protect their children and keep them safe, but data shows that nearly half (46%) of car seats are misused. Children who are correctly buckled in a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt benefit from the single most effective way to protect passengers in a motor vehicle and reduce fatalities in a crash. A correctly selected and installed car seat or booster seat is essential in keeping children safe in the vehicle. Whenever possible, all children younger than 13 years of age should ride buckled in the back seat.

Pennsylvania’s Occupant Protection Law for Children

• All children from birth to age 4 must be secured in a car seat anywhere in the vehicle.
  • Children younger than age 2 must be secured rear-facing, until they outgrow the maximum weight and height of the car seat.
• All children 4 years of age and older, but less than 8 years, must be secured in a seat belt and an appropriate booster seat anywhere in the vehicle.
• All children 8 years of age and older, but less than 18 years of age, must be secured in a seat belt system anywhere in the vehicle.
• All drivers are responsible for securing children in the appropriate car seat, booster seat, or seat belt.

Child Passenger Safety Week is dedicated to educating parents and caregivers about the importance of correctly selecting, installing, and using car seats, booster seats, and seat belts. We encourage you to take an hour or so during this week to double and triple check your child’s car seat or booster seat, and ensure that it is the correct car seat for your child’s age and size, and that it is installed correctly. Car seat check events will be posted on the events calendar.

For more information about the correct selection, installation, and use of a car seat, please call 1-800 CAR BELT.