The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is dedicated to protecting California’s youngest travelers through its comprehensive child passenger safety initiatives. Funded by the California Restraint Safety Education and Training (CARSEAT) V grant, the CHP provides vital resources and programs aimed at reducing child injuries and fatalities from traffic collisions. This commitment is demonstrated through public awareness campaigns, educational training, and enhanced enforcement efforts, all active until September 30, 2022.
The core objective of the CARSEAT V program is to significantly decrease the number of children harmed or killed in vehicle accidents across California. To achieve this critical safety goal, the CHP offers a range of free services to the public. These include informative educational seminars designed for parents and caregivers, specialized classes for new parents, and personalized appointments at local CHP Area offices. These appointments provide crucial child safety seat inspections and hands-on assistance with proper installations. These services emphasize the life-saving importance of utilizing car seats and seat belts correctly and offer practical guidance on the correct installation techniques for child passenger safety seats.
CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray emphasizes the critical need for these programs, stating, “We are raising public awareness of the dangers of traveling with children in a vehicle who are not securely buckled into the appropriate child passenger safety seat. As a parent or caregiver, it is your responsibility to protect these vulnerable passengers.” This message underscores the CHP’s dedication to empowering parents and caregivers to prioritize child passenger safety.
California law mandates that children must be properly secured in an appropriate child safety seat in the vehicle’s rear seat until they reach at least 8 years of age. For children 8 years and older, or those who have reached a height of 4 feet 9 inches, they may use a properly fitted seat belt in the rear seat. Furthermore, children under 2 years old are required to ride in a rear-facing car seat until they weigh 40 pounds or are 40 inches tall. For optimal safety, the CHP recommends that all children remain in rear-facing car seats as long as possible, up to the maximum weight and height limits specified by the car seat manufacturer. Detailed information regarding child safety seats and current California regulations can be found on the official CHP website.
In conjunction with these educational initiatives, the CHP conducts regular enforcement operations throughout the year to ensure compliance with seat belt and child safety seat laws. These enforcement efforts are intensified during specific campaigns, such as the “Click It or Ticket” campaign from May 23 to June 5, 2022, and Child Passenger Safety Week, observed from September 18 to 24, 2022. These periods of increased enforcement are designed to further highlight the importance of child passenger safety and ensure that drivers are adhering to the law.
The CHP’s child passenger safety program is made possible through funding from a grant provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This funding underscores the collaborative effort to enhance road safety for children in California.
Through the CARSEAT V grant and related initiatives, the CHP continues to uphold its mission of providing the highest levels of Safety, Service, and Security to all Californians, especially its most vulnerable passengers.
