(KLIX) – Keep your kids safe when traveling in vehicles.

In short, that’s the message of Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, which is coming up next week. And Idaho is celebrating.

Gov. Brad Little, in a proclamation, said Idaho will honor the safety week from Sept. 15-21. Several events are planned during for the week in different parts of the Gem State.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Traffic Safety Marketing website, one child under the age of 13 was involved in a crash while a passenger in a vehicle in 2017.

“Many times,” the department said, “Injuries and deaths can be prevented by proper use of car seats, boosters, and seat belts.”

Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week encourages efforts to keep children safe while traveling in vehicles. Gov. Little, in the proclamation, said it doesn’t matter how far or near the travel distance is, parents and other drivers should take precautions to make sure children are safely secured in the vehicles before starting out.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injuries for children 14 years old and younger. Of the 794 children 14 and younger who were killed in traffic crashes nationwide in 2017, 267 of them were not using a car seat, booster seat or a seat belt.

ITD also said that when child safety seats are installed and used correctly the risk of fatal injury decreased by 71 percent among infants, 54 percent among toddlers and 45 percent among children ages 4 through 8.

The take-home message for you: make sure kids are properly secured in your vehicles before you get behind the wheel. And, of course, don’t forget to buckle yourself properly.

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