Help Spread Awareness about Child Passenger Safety Using Social Media

RALEIGH – Sixty children died in car crashes in North Carolina last year. Nearly two-thirds of them were not buckled into a car seat or a seat belt. The Governor’s Highway Safety Program wants to reduce that number to zero by urging parents and caregivers to properly restrain their children while riding in the car.

GHSP is getting out that critical message during Child Passenger Safety Week, which kicked off Monday, using the “#SafetySelfie.” This interactive effort encourages the public to get out their cell phone cameras, snap a picture of their children buckled up correctly in their car seat or booster seat while parked and share it on social media, using the hashtag, “#SafetySelfie.”

“When we first launched #SafetySelfie during the 20th anniversary ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign, citizens embraced our message, which resulted in an increase in the number of North Carolinians buckling their seat belts,” said Don Nail, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. “Our hope is that we’ll have that same powerful effect during this year’s Child Passenger Safety Week.”

The process is easy and takes less than a minute to complete. With your vehicle in a parked position, activate your cell phone camera and take a picture of your children properly buckled in their car seats or seat belts. Then, share the photo with your friends, family and co-workers via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest with the hashtag, #SafetySelfie. GHSP asks you to add comments, urging others to follow your example and fasten their children’s seat belts the right way before putting the vehicle in drive.

For those parents and caregivers who need a helping hand with their child’s car seat, there is BuckleUpNC.org. The website details the laws regarding child restraints in vehicles, tips on how to pick the right car seat and a list of permanent car seat checking stations across the state.

For more information regarding Child Passenger Safety Week, visit the GHSP website<http://www.ncdot.gov/programs/GHSP/> or www.BuckleUpNC.org<http://www.buckleupnc.org>. You can also watch and share our new CPS Week public service announcement<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13uFWL6wbJg>.