COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE IN THE FIRE SERVICE

Passenger safety is a lifetime commitment. Babies, toddlers and older kids each need a specific type of car seat or booster seat. And kids who have outgrown booster seats — at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall and 80 to 100 pounds — still need to buckle up.

Although drivers can be fined for safety belt violations, or if a child is not in an appropriate car seat, the goal of the enforcement program is to educate drivers and passengers and promote the consistent use of safety belts.

It’s important for children to see parents and caregivers buckle up. Kids are strongly influenced by adult role modeling of good safety practices.

More than 30,000 nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians teach parents and caregivers how to install their own car seats in their own vehicles and adjust the safety features properly for their child. Contact your local Safe Kids coalition to make an appointment. Think of it as a free private lesson in the proper use of your safety equipment — we’ll help you determine whether your child is ready to graduate from a car seat to a booster, or from a booster seat to safety belts.

The Click It or Ticket Mobilization is coordinated nationwide by Buckle Up America, a program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; To learn more about child passenger safety, visit the Safe Kids Buckle Up page.