To kick off National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week (February 10 - 16, 2002), the Nassau County Department of Health wishes to remind residents to make certain their children are properly secured in the back seat of the car -- the safest place for children to ride.

Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one cause of death among children. Safety belts and child safety seats, when properly used, can reduce the risk of fatal injury by more than half. In Nassau County, many serious injuries could be prevented each year if all children are properly secured in cars and trucks.

Because passenger side air bags pose a serious threat to children when they deploy, it is crucial that youngsters be safely secured in the back seat of the car.

• Check that child seats are properly anchored in the back seat of the vehicle and your child is snugly buckled into the seat.
• Children under one year of age should be secured in rear-facing seats which are properly anchored in the back seat. NEVER use an infant seat in front of a passenger side airbag.
• Children age 1 - 4 should be transported in seats which are installed facing forward in the back seat. Older children, over age 4 and under 4 feet 9" tall, should use "booster seats" which work in conjunction with the vehicle's safety belts.
• Older children should be properly secured in safety belts in the back seat to protect them from the force of deploying passenger side air bags.

Parents are also urged to register new child safety seats with the manufacturer so they can be notified in the event of a safety recall. For more information on child passenger safety, call the Nassau Department of Health at 571-3737.