Research In Action

Research In Action

CPS Week
Focusing on Safe Travel During National Child Passenger Safety Week
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By Lindsey Mitros

This week, September 18-24, marks Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Week, a time to raise national awareness about CPS best practices. Motor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of death for children in the US. Over 100,000 child passengers were injured and 600 died in traffic crashes in 2020; more than a third (38%) of children who were killed were unrestrained. Using the appropriate child safety seat or booster seat that's right for a child’s age and size can help prevent injuries and fatalities caused by car crashes.

On CHOP’s Car Seat Safety for Kids website, our experts provide evidence-based recommendations for how to optimally protect kids in motor vehicles as they grow, from newborns all the way up through older adolescents. Here are some of the resources that can be found on the website:

  • CHOP’s “Car Seat Safety by Age” educational video series helps caregivers choose and install the proper child safety seat or booster seat. Information is also offered about using the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system, used to install child safety seats without the use of seat belts, and air bag safety. The videos are also available in Spanish.
  • This Car Seat Restraint Checklist, designed in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, provides information on how to use the proper restraint for each child's age and size.
  • A listing of Southeastern Pennsylvania car seat checks, where certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians educate caregivers on proper child restraint system installation, is available on the site here. To find an inspection station or car seat check nationally, visit the Safe Kids Worldwide website. National Seat Check Saturday is this Saturday, September 24th!

For the past 30 years, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all US territories have had laws requiring children to be secured in the appropriate car seats or booster seats for their ages and sizes while riding in motor vehicles. View the current CPS laws for each state on the Governors Highway Safety Association website.

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