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The Fort Myers Beach Fire Department is committed to ensuring the safety of its
citizens. One of the many safety programs that the Department provides to the public
is the Safety Seat Program. An extensive education program on the proper use of
safety seats is provided to the public and at the conclusion of the program participants
are eligible to receive a free child safety seat.
The Safety Seat Program was designed in response to research that was conducted
on the effectiveness of using a child safety seat. In a 2006 study of child safety
seats, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that “Research
on the effectiveness of child safety seats has found them to reduce fatal injury
by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers
(1-4 years old) in passenger cars.”1
Safety seats not only protect children in the event of an accident, they are also
required by Florida State Law. Florida statute 316.613 outlines the following child
restraint requirements:
Children 3-5 Years
-
All children
5
years of age or younger must be properly restrained no matter where
they are sitting
in the vehicle
-
Children through
age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer's
integrated
child safety seat
-
Children age
4
through 5 years require a separate carrier, an integrated child
safety seat, or a safety
belt
o
A forward-facing older child should ride
sitting upright
o
Never
place a child in a child safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with
a
passenger air bag
Infants
-
Infants must ride rear-facing until
they are
at least one year old and weigh 20 pounds or more
o
Rear-facing, the infant should be semi-upright
at an angle or no more than 45 degrees
For more information on the Safety Seat Program please contact the
Community Resource Officer at (239)463-6163.
For more information on the Florida Occupant Protection Laws, please visit
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/Safety/HighwaySafetyGrantProgram/hsgp/HSGPAreas_Occupant.htm.
To view proper safety
seat procedures, please visit
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/AreYouUsing/Index.htm
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