[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13181-13182]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             SAFE KIDS USA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2008

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an important 
milestone in child safety: Safe Kids USA's inspection of more than one 
million car seats.
  Since 1996, Safe Kids USA, a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, has 
partnered with General Motors to address one of the Nation's most 
significant public health issues: Motor vehicle crashes are the leading 
cause of death for children ages 2 to 14 and the leading cause of 
injury-related death for children under age 2.
  Together with GM, Safe Kids USA has redefined how parents and 
caregivers learn about child passenger safety in order to prevent these 
injuries and deaths from happening in the first place. We know that 
when installed and used correctly, child safety seats and safety belts 
can prevent injury and save lives. Their initiative, Safe Kids Buckle 
Up, sponsors car seat checkup events, which are essential to show 
families the intricacies of how to properly use and install child 
safety seats.
  At these events, trained child passenger safety technicians teach 
families how to safely transport their children and help to make sure 
everyone in a vehicle is buckled up correctly on every ride. On 
average, technicians spend about 30 minutes with each child. Most of 
these events are open to the public and are conducted by Safe Kids 
coalitions in central locations like Chevrolet and other GM 
dealerships, hospitals, community centers and shopping centers. 
Families who need child safety seats, but cannot afford them, are never 
turned away and children who are being transported in potentially 
dangerous, recalled car seats are given safe replacements. Parents and 
caregivers can have the peace of mind that their child will be safer 
for the simple fact that they participated in a Safe Kids Buckle Up 
event.
  In addition, through the generosity of General Motors, Safe Kids 
coalitions have access to Mobile Car Seat Checkup Vans which serve 
communities across the Nation. The vans are specially designed, self-
contained units that can turn any parking lot into a full-service car 
seat safety event site. The fleet was launched in 1999 with 51 vans; 
today there are 125 on the road with another 12 being added through 
2008. There are also more than 400 permanent car seat inspection 
stations operated by Safe Kids coalitions in order for families to take 
advantage of trained technicians whenever they are needed.
  To date, Safe Kids Buckle Up has reached more than 15 million people 
and there have been more than 45,000 events that bring much needed car 
seat inspection services and educational messages to families across 
the country. The program has also donated 365,000 seats to families in 
need. On June 12th, the one millionth car seat was inspected at an 
event in Los Angeles and it personally gratifies me to see the 
evolution of this outstanding program that serves children and their 
families.

[[Page 13182]]

  While crash protection is the backbone of Safe Kids Buckle Up, the 
program has evolved to offer vehicle safety programs beyond car seats 
and booster seats. Children can be injured or killed by heat exposure 
in parked cars, by suffocation when they get stuck in a trunk or when 
struck in a non-traffic setting such as a driveway or a parking lot. 
Safe Kids Buckle Up has responded to these risks by introducing three 
new components to their programming efforts--Spot the Tot, Never Leave 
Your Child Alone and Preventing Trunk Entrapment--in order to help 
prevent children from being left alone in or around a vehicle. I 
applaud Safe Kids Buckle Up for moving beyond crash protection and for 
addressing children's safety needs in all types of motor vehicle 
situations.
  I was part of the launch of the Safe Kids--General Motors partnership 
in 1996 and I have been proud to lend my support over the years to Safe 
Kids in their efforts to raise public awareness of the serious problem 
of motor vehicle crashes. We have made considerable progress in child 
passenger safety but our work is not done. Every American must 
understand that there are proven ways to keep children safer in 
vehicles and we can prevent many injuries and deaths through proper 
safety precautions.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to participate in a Safe Kids Buckle 
Up event in their districts to see firsthand how these safety 
precautions can make a difference in a child's life. Please join me in 
celebrating the achievements of Safe Kids USA, their remarkable 310+ 
coalition network and General Motors, whose combined efforts ensure 
that every child that visits a car seat safety event leaves safer than 
when he/she entered.

                          ____________________