Child Safety While Driving

Every year, children are killed in cars due to the careless behavior of the people who are responsible for taking care of them. In 2013 there were over 180 children killed because parents left their children in vehicles unattended according to KidsandCars.org.

There are several simple things caregivers can do to make sure their children are safe in their vehicles:

1. Watch over them
2. Never leave them unattended in the vehicle
3. Use proper child safety seats for children of appropriate weight and height

Children that are left unattended and improperly restrained in a vehicle can lead to a child being locked in the vehicle, the vehicle can be set in motion, kidnapping, heat exhaustion, or traffic citations, and even death.

While a child should not be left unattended in a vehicle for any amount of time, it's actually illegal in Texas to leave a child unattended in a vehicle for longer than five minutes if the child is younger than seven years old.

This following information was compiled by a Texas Defensive Driving Class - Comedy Driving, Inc with statistical help from www.KidsandCars.org.