NADA Auto Dealers Kick Off National Child Passenger Safety Month

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 1 -- New car dealerships around the country are hosting child safety seat inspections throughout September, as part of Child Passenger Safety Month, a program sponsored by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and developed in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Child Passenger Safety Month coincides with the back-to-school timeframe, when many children will be on the roads each day. Thousands of dealers are expected to participate in the NADA program.

"Parents will do the right thing if they have the right information," said William Bradshaw, NADA chairman and a new car dealer in South Carolina. "Unfortunately, many parents don't have the right information when it comes to child safety seats -- and dealers want to change that," he added.

More than 40,000 child passengers under age four are injured or killed in car crashes annually, according to NHTSA. The Agency reports that over 50,000 children between four and eight years old are injured or killed riding in cars annually. Approximately 40 percent of children under the age of eight who die or suffer serious injuries in fatal car crashes are completely unrestrained.

For more information on child seat safety and the "Boost for Safety" campaign, as well as a partial list of participating dealerships, visit http://www.nada.org/boostforsafety.

The National Automobile Dealers Association, founded in 1917 and based in McLean, VA, represents approximately 20,000 new car and truck dealers holding nearly 43,000 separate franchises, domestic and international.