DaimlerChrysler's National SEATCHECK Campaign Marks Five Years of Keeping Child Passengers Safe

- Motor vehicle crashes are still the number one killer of kids; seven out of 10 kids in child safety seats are not properly buckled in

- Redesigned SEATCHECK Web site (www.seatcheck.org) offers variety of child passenger safety resources, including safety seat technician locater database

- DaimlerChrysler shows commitment to ongoing child passenger safety education at government hearing

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 7 -- DaimlerChrysler's SEATCHECK education initiative is proud to mark five years of assisting parents and caregivers in making sure their child is safe. Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one killer of kids with seven out of 10 kids in child safety seats not properly buckled in. To help parents ensure their child is properly buckled in, SEATCHECK has provided easy access to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's child passenger safety seat technician locater database since 2002.

"A properly installed child safety seat could be the difference between life and serious injury for a child," said Deb Morrissett -- Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Chrysler Group. "Many of these serious injuries can be prevented with the proper use of child safety seats, but many parents and caregivers simply are not aware that their child's seat is installed incorrectly."

A national public education campaign to help parents properly secure their children when traveling in motor vehicles, SEATCHECK aims to inform parents and caregivers about the need for child safety seat inspections. The free service -- available online at www.seatcheck.org or by calling 1-866-SEATCHECK -- connects parents to the closest child safety seat inspection locations in their community to have their child's safety seat inspected for proper fit and use.

With an all-new Web site, the SEATCHECK resources provide a listing of more than 4,000 local inspection locations staffed by trained and certified child safety seat technicians. SEATCHECK.org also offers parents a variety of other child passenger safety resources, including state law look-up, a current list of manufacturer recalled child safety seats and information on the federally regulated LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system.

The Ongoing Need for Safety Education

On February 9, 2007, DaimlerChrysler will participate in a public hearing on the effectiveness of LATCH, the continued efforts of the SEATCHECK campaign and the ongoing need for child passenger safety education.

"Through programs like SEATCHECK, the industry and safety community have come a long way in educating parents on the need for child restraints and their proper usage," stated Morrissett. "However, we need to continue working together to educate them on the technology, like LATCH, implemented to ease the use of child seats."

"DaimlerChrysler applauds NHTSA for monitoring these issues and bringing the different stakeholders together to discuss how we can improve the system through both technology and education."