Press Release

President Clinton Proclaims National Child Passenger Safety Week

02/19/97

WASHINGTON - U.S. Newswire: Following is a proclamation by President
Clinton on National Child Passenger Safety Week:


Children are our nation's most precious gift, and one of our most
profound responsibilities is protecting their health, well-being and
safety. Nowhere is this duty more critical than on America's streets
and highways.

Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for America's
young people. It is tragic that a high proportion of these deaths
could be prevented, but are not. For example, we know that seat belts
save lives -- last year they prevented the deaths of almost 10,000
Americans -- and, yet, many still fail to wear them.

I encourage all Americans to take a few simple steps to ensure that
their families travel safely. The most important rule is also the
simplest: The safest place for children is the back seat. Also,
parents and guardians must always make sure that children are secured,
either in a locked seat belt or in an appropriate child safety seat.

I commend the Department of Transportation for its "Patterns for Life"
program, begun in 1996 to focus attention on correct child safety seat
use and the proper positioning of children and their safety seats away
from air bags. Working through national safety organizations and state
public safety and highway offices, this program offers a network of
qualified child passenger safety trainers to provide communities with
the valuable resources they need to reduce motor vehicles -- related
deaths and injuries.

Laws exist in every state and the District of Columbia that require
proper restraints for younger children.  However, 40 percent of our
children under five are still not properly restrained. We must do
better to enforce the existing laws and protect our precious cargo.

The steps we take now will make our roads safer and our children more
secure. My administration is striving to increase the use of seat
belts throughout the nation. We are also working with automobile
makers, car dealers, private organizations and insurance companies to
teach parents how to install child safety seats properly and new
technologies will eventually make air bags safer for children.

Now, therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States
of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim
February 9 through February 15, 1997, as National Child Passenger
Safety Week. I urge all Americans to help reduce injuries and the
tragic loss of life on our highways by buckling up every child in an
approved restraint, in the vehicle's back seat. And let us all help
spread these important child safety messages throughout our
communities. By doing so, we can save many young lives.

In witness thereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of
February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven,
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON