National Child Passenger Safety Week is February 13-19: Chrysler Group Offers Free Child Passenger Safety Resources

SeatCheck -- 1-866-Seat-Check or http://www.seatcheck.org

Fit for a Kid(R) -- 1-877-Fit-4-A-Kid or http://www.fitforakid.org

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 14 -- National Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Week, February 13-19, is a time when safety advocates encourage the nation to focus on keeping children safe in vehicles. This also is an important time to remind parents and caregivers of the risks their children face when kids are not properly secured in a child safety seat, and direct parents and caregivers to free resources to help them safely install and use child safety seats correctly.

Traffic crashes remain the No. 1 killer of kids. Incorrect use of child restraints can lead to serious injury or death to the child in the event of a crash. Despite the efforts of conscientious caregivers who use child safety seats, many of them are not using the seats correctly and do not know it. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 80 percent of child safety seats are used incorrectly. In addition, only one out of five children of booster seat age rides in booster seats. Yet, children who ride in booster seats are 60 percent safer than those restrained only by seat belts.

"Getting more parents and caregivers to use booster seats and to have their children's car seats inspected is a top priority for Chrysler Group," said Deborah Morrissett, Vice President of Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Chrysler Group. "I encourage parents to use Child Passenger Safety Week as a time to get that child safety seat inspection they've been putting off -- or make sure their child is in a properly installed booster seat. Through our child safety seat inspection services SeatCheck and Fit for a Kid, Chrysler Group can help."

Booster seats, the final stage of car seats, keep children secure by working with an automobile's lap/shoulder belt to properly restrain them. NHTSA recommends that children at about four years old and 40 pounds who have outgrown child safety seats should ride in booster seats. Booster seats should be used until children are at least eight years old, unless they weigh 80 pounds or more and are taller than 4'9". After that, children can safely use seat belts. Children 12 and under are safest when placed in a rear seat.

Both SeatCheck and Fit for a Kid are free services offered by Chrysler Group.

Fit for a Kid is a dealer-based child safety seat inspection service. Through a network of participating Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge dealers nationwide, trained and certified technicians conduct child safety seat inspections free, by appointment, for any family regardless of the make or model vehicle they drive. To find a participating Fit for a Kid dealer, parents can call toll-free 1-877-Fit-4-a-Kid or log on to http://www.fitforakid.org/. Chrysler Group sponsors the program along with the National Safety Council and Graco Children's Products Inc.

SeatCheck(TM) provides a free car seat inspection locator service through a Web site (http://www.seatcheck.org/) and a toll-free hotline (1-866-SEAT- CHECK). SeatCheck provides listings to over 4,000 inspection locations. DaimlerChrysler created the SeatCheck initiative in 2002 along with NHTSA, the National Safety Council, Graco Children's Products Inc., and Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us. The Web site also offers parents useful information on keeping kids safe in motor vehicles.