Safe Kids USA

- 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.

- 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.

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