CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas Department of Transportation is urging parents to get their children's car seats inspected as part of a new campaign called "Love My Car Seat," launched to coincide with Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs Sept. 20-26.
Nearly 46% of child car seats nationwide are misused or are the wrong seat for a child's size, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Texas last year, 583 children younger than 13 were seriously injured and 69 were killed in traffic crashes, according to TxDOT.
"Children are our most precious cargo," TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said in a statement. "Parents will do anything to protect their little ones, and we're helping them be sure their kids are buckled in safe when they're infants and as they grow."
Parents and caregivers can visit LoveMyCarSeat.org to schedule a free car seat check with a safety specialist at the nearest TxDOT district office.
TxDOT is also conducting car seat events in cities found to have low rates of correct car seat usage, according to the agency.
The campaign features Elmendorf, Texas, mother Emilce Ferreira and her family. In September 2017, Ferreira, her husband Julio Torres and their then-3-year-old son Santiago survived a serious crash on a drive from San Antonio to Austin when another driver hydroplaned and collided with their vehicle. The family walked away with minor injuries. Santiago was properly secured in his car seat at the time, according to TxDOT.
"It was sometimes challenging putting Santiago in his car seat because he could be a fussy baby and toddler," Ferreira said in a TxDOT statement. "But we always did it because we'd heard horrific stories about crashes where kids died or were severely injured because they weren't properly buckled up."
Common car seat mistakes include choosing the wrong seat for a child's age and size, positioning the chest clip incorrectly, securing the harness too loosely and using the wrong seat belt path, according to TxDOT.
Under Texas law, children younger than 8 must ride in a child car seat or booster seat unless they are taller than 4 feet, 9 inches. Drivers who fail to properly secure child passengers face fines up to $250.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
