FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 7, 2001

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety traveled around the state today to bring attention to National Child Passenger Safety Week, which will run February 12-18.

DPS will work with local law enforcement agencies, other state agencies and children’s groups to increase enforcement during that period, particularly in the area of child restraint. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for children after their first year of life. Each year 1,700 children die and almost 30,000 more are injured in motor vehicle crashes. Six out of ten children killed in crashes are completely unrestrained.

When properly installed, child safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers.

"Just this week, two adults were killed and another critically injured in a head-on collision in the Upstate, while two children riding in the back seat properly restrained escaped without serious injury" said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. "This story drives home the importance of properly restraining children and buckling up yourself."

Observational surveys have shown that, if an adult driver is buckled up, then 86 percent of the time children also will be restrained.

Next week’s efforts will be part of the continuing Click It or Ticket campaign, which began last year with a two-week enforcement period focused on saving lives by strictly enforcing seat belt and child restraint laws. Click It or Ticket will continue through a federal grant, focusing efforts on saving lives by increasing restraint use.

For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week or Click It or Ticket, please log on to the DPS web site at www.scdps.org.

--30--

SI/26/2001

-Back-