Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater District of Columbia Safety Seat Event

Rodney E. Slater, United States Secretary of Transportation
March 20, 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 20, 1997
Contact:  Tim Hurd
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550

REMARKS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION RODNEY E. SLATER
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SAFETY SEAT EVENT
MARCH 20, 1997
WASHINGTON, D.C.

I have a four-year old, who is very strong-willed and stiffens her body in such a way it's very hard for me to get her in her car seat. In fact, she thinks she should be the driver!

My little girl is in child care, too. So I know the scene every weekday morning in America. Parents are rushing to get to their jobs, running late, and the toddler wants to play more, and it's easy to think: well, the child care center is just a few blocks away, I won't worry about buckling up the little one.

I have the good fortune to work for a President who wants to change that thinking -- in Washington and across America.

I'm here today, at this place of learning, because President Clinton asked all of the members of the Cabinet to work hard to make our home city the finest place to learn, to work, to live.

All of us in the Cabinet have another obligation. We must help the President make sure that every 8-year-old in the country can read a book; every 12-year-old can log on to the Internet; every 18-year-old can go to college. And today, I want to add that every child is properly buckled up in the back of the automobile.

The real beauty of Washington isn't the majesty of the monuments. It's in the hearts of our children, these two year olds, who need to grow up healthy and safe. To make it happen, we need safe schools, safe streets, and safe cars.

Not just as the Transportation Secretary, but also as a dad, it frustrates me to know that only half the children in the District are buckled up. Let me repeat that: only half our children are buckled up, even though it's the law of the land.

When the child is the age of these kids, it's not the child's responsibility. Buckling is the responsibility of you, and me, and every mom and dad in our city, and every parent who visits our city.

I come from a very poor part of Arkansas, and I know many parents who may be young and may not have the resources to buy car seats, but who desperately want to do a good job of raising their children.

And I know many parents who have the resources, and who also want to do a good job, but for one reason or another when they buckle their kids in the car seats, they aren't doing it correctly.

Did you know that four out of five times the child is not buckled properly? Maybe the seat is not anchored tight enough, or the child isn't strapped into the seat tight enough. We can do better.

So, I'm proud to say that the Transportation Department is providing almost $675,000 to the District for traffic safety programs this year. And the District will loan more than 800 seats.

I'm proud to be here with our partners in safety -- the D.C. Safe Kids, the D.C. Department of Public Works, the D.C. Metropolitan Police -- and all of you.

I know if we all mobilize our efforts, every day in every way, we can do better for our children, and make our city a model of safety for our nation.

Source:  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)