Coatesville PD to focus on child car seat safety this week

babycartseatCOATESVILLE — As part of National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, which runs from September 18 through 24, the City of Coatesville Police Department, Buckle Up PA, and the PA Traffic Injury Prevention Project announced this week they will partner in an enforcement mobilization to help reduce child injuries and fatalities.

The mobilization will take place from September 18 through 30, 2016, and will also highlight National Seat Check Saturday  on September  24.

Vehicle  crashes  continue  to  be  the  leading  cause  of  death  for  children.  According  to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration every 33 seconds, one child under 13 is involved in a crash. On average in 2014, nearly two children under 13 years old were killed and 308 were injured every day as passengers in car crashes. These crashes are a leading cause of death for children in the United States.

Motorists are reminded that Pennsylvania’s primary seat-belt law requires drivers and passengers under 18 years old to buckle up, and children under the age of 4 must be properly restrained in an approved child safety seat.

Children ages 4 to 8 must be restrained in an appropriate booster seat. A new law that went into effect August 2016 requires a child under 2 years of age be securely fastened in a rear-facing child passenger restraint system, which is to be used until the child outgrows  the  maximum weight  and  limits designated by the manufacturer.   In addition,  children ages 8 to  18 must be wearing  a seat belt when riding  anywhere in the vehicle. Also, drivers and front-seat  passengers  18 years-old or older are required to buckle up. If motorists are stopped for a traffic violation  and are not wearing their seat belt, they can  receive  a second ticket  and second fine.

The City of Coatesville Police Department will join other departments  and highway safety  partners across  the state to provide child passenger safety information, presentations, provide fitting stations and, if necessary, write citations. Police will also  use Traffic  Enforcement Zones, which  combine enforcement patrol and checkpoint  tactics  on roadways with high numbers of unbuckled crashes.  Citations will  be  issued to  motorists who  are caught transporting  unrestrained children.

For more information on seat belt safety, visit www.penndot.gov/safety or call Sergeant  Rodger Ollis of  the City of Coatesville  Police Department  at (610)  384-2300 X3243.

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