Did You Know…
-
Car crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for children in NC.
-
In 2018, 76 children died as result of motor vehicle crashes.
-
9 out of 10 children are improperly restrained in a vehicle.
-
Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers.
-
All children under the age of 16, are to ride in a properly worn seat belt or in an appropriately installed car seat.
Top Safety Tips
-
Keep infants in the back seat, in rear-facing child safety seats, as long as possible up to the height or weight limit of the child safety seat.
-
When children outgrow their rear-facing seats they should ride in a forward-facing car seat, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of that seat.
-
Once children outgrow their forward-facing car seat, they should ride in a booster seat, in the back seat, until the vehicle seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest.
-
When children outgrow their booster seat, they can use the vehicle seat belt in the back seat, if it fits properly.
Child Passenger Safety Diversion Program
The NC Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Diversion Program combines enforcement, adjudication and education to ensure parents and/or caregivers are buckling up their children correctly and if not, educates them on how to keep everyone safe when riding in a vehicle. Through this program, the individual once cited with a CPS citation, can have their ticket dismissed if they participate in a CPS educational session and prove the CPS seat is installed correctly in their vehicle. Once the individual has successfully completed the program, the completed paperwork is turned in to their district attorney on their assigned court date to have the violation dismissed. The CPS Diversion Program is a win-win for both parents/caregivers and law enforcement. The program provides education to parents and caregivers on proper use of the CPS seat as well as provides law enforcement with the necessary tools to ticket the driver, reduce recidivism, and speed up the county court system. Most importantly, it ensures children are riding safe in the vehicle!
Child Passenger Safety Diversion
Child Passenger Safety Resources
This page was last modified on 06/21/2022