Although Mississippi law requires the use of child restraints, half of the children traveling by automobile are not restrained. On average, 27 children die each year in Mississippi in motor vehicle crashes. Most of them were not properly restrained. Buckle for Life’s goal is to help improve these numbers in Mississippi. It is estimated that increasing the use of child restraints by 50% would save the lives of 10 children each year and would save $3.5 million in emergency department and hospitalization costs.
Mississippi has an estimated 95% misuse rate for child passenger safety seats. Call any fitting station for an appointment to get your seat inspected by a certified child passenger safety technician.
Buckle for Life
- Provides training and information packets to citizens statewide to increase awareness of the need for improved child passenger safety
- Maintains a statewide citizen reporting system
- Presents programs to schools, daycares, health fairs and civic/community groups
- Recognizes law enforcement officers who write child restraint citations in conjunction with Child Passenger Safety Week each February
NOTE: Call 1-800-9-BUCKLE to report an unrestrained child. Give date, time, location of vehicle, tag number, approximate age of child unrestrained, and what the child was doing in the vehicle.