[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6443-6444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3677]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 29 / Wednesday, February 12, 1997 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 6443]]

                Proclamation 6972 of February 8, 1997

                
National Child Passenger Safety Week, 1997

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Children are our Nation's most precious gift, and one 
                of our most profound responsibilities is protecting 
                their health, well-being, and safety. Nowhere is this 
                duty more critical than on America's streets and 
                highways.

                Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for 
                America's young people. It is tragic that a high 
                proportion of these deaths could be prevented, but are 
                not. For example, we know that seat belts save lives--
                last year they prevented the deaths of almost 10,000 
                Americans--and, yet, many still fail to wear them.

                I encourage all Americans to take a few simple steps to 
                ensure that their families travel safely. The most 
                important rule is also the simplest: The safest place 
                for children is the back seat. Also, parents and 
                guardians must always make sure that children are 
                secured, either in a locked seat belt or in an 
                appropriate child safety seat.

                I commend the Department of Transportation for its 
                ``Patterns for Life'' program, begun in 1996 to focus 
                attention on correct child safety seat use and the 
                proper positioning of children and their safety seats 
                away from air bags. Working through national safety 
                organizations and State public safety and highway 
                offices, this program offers a network of qualified 
                child passenger safety trainers to provide communities 
                with the valuable resources they need to reduce motor 
                vehicle-related deaths and injuries.

                Laws exist in every State and the District of Columbia 
                that require proper restraints for younger children. 
                However, 40 percent of our children under five are 
                still not properly restrained. We must do better to 
                enforce the existing laws and protect our precious 
                cargo.

                The steps we take now will make our roads safer and our 
                children more secure. My Administration is striving to 
                increase the use of seat belts throughout the Nation. 
                We are also working with automobile makers, car 
                dealers, private organizations, and insurance companies 
                to teach parents how to install child safety seats 
                properly, and new technologies will eventually make air 
                bags safer for children.

[[Page 6444]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim February 9 through February 
                15, 1997, as National Child Passenger Safety Week. I 
                urge all Americans to help reduce injuries and the 
                tragic loss of life on our highways by buckling up 
                every child in an approved restraint, in the vehicle's 
                back seat. And let us all help spread these important 
                child safety messages throughout our communities. By 
                doing so, we can save many young lives.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 97-3677
Filed 2-11-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P