WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Safety seats, if used correctly, can dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or injury to children involved in car crashes. Therefore, even if you think you have your child in the right car seat, you should check again to be sure, as the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that approximately 59 percent of car seats are misused. Furthermore, in 2013 more than one-third of children killed in car crashes were completely unrestrained – meaning that they were not in car seats, booster seats or wearing seat belts.

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As part of Child Passenger Safety Week from September 13 to September 19, 2015, NHTSA has teamed up with the Ad Council to launch a new series of public service ads (PSAs) that urge parents to protect their child’s future at every stage of life, by making sure they secure them in the correct car seat for their age, height, and weight. The new campaign materials were created pro bono by Casanova and Misterface and include English and Spanish radio, print, outdoor and web banner ads. The English PSAs direct to SaferCar.gov/TheRightSeat and the Spanish ads direct to www.SaferCar.gov/protegidos where parents can find more information on how to determine if their child is in the right seat for his or her age and size. 

“Protecting our children – the most vulnerable passengers – should be everyone’s safety priority,” said NHTSA Administrator, Mark Rosekind. “Parents and caregivers are the first line of protection by ensuring that car seats are installed properly, that children are in the right seat and buckled in correctly. Car seats provide life-saving and injury-reducing benefits for child passengers.”

“We all want to do everything we can to make sure our children are safe, but every day in America too many children are riding in the wrong car seats or without any kind of restraint at all,” added Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council. “By making sure you know the right size seat for your child, how to install it properly, and when it’s time to change to a bigger seat, you can make sure your child is as safe as possible.”

Child Passenger Safety Week is a nationwide community effort sponsored by NHTSA to provide education on how to use car seats, booster seats and seat belts for children. The week concludes with National Seat Check Saturday on September 19, when certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians across the country will be available at local car seat inspection stations to offer advice and instruction to parents and caregivers about choosing the right car seat for their child, the importance of registering car seats with the manufacturer, and what to expect if the seat is subject to a safety recall. To coincide with Child Passenger Safety Week, NHTSA will also be hosting a Twitter chat on Wednesday, September 16, from 2-3 p.m. ET via @NHTSAgov using the hashtag #therightseat.  For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week events, and to find your nearest car seat inspection station, visit http://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/index.htm 

“This campaign is not about death; it is about life, about dreams. It is a plea to parents in the present in order to ensure our kid’s future. Although the statistics about the deaths and injuries caused by crashes are scary, we don’t want to scare parents, we want to inspire them,” said Elias Weinstock, Chief Creative Officer.

The new PSAs are an extension of the Ad Council’s Child Passenger Safety campaign which launched in 2012. The Ad Council will be distributing the new PSAs to media outlets nationwide this week, and they will also be made available through PSACentral.org. The ads will air and run in time and space entirely donated by the media. To date, the Child Passenger Safety campaign has received more than $175 million in donated media.

NHTSA
For more than four decades, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has served as the key federal agency charged with improving safety on our nation’s roadways. As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, NHTSA is working to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries by promoting the use of safety belts and child safety seats; helping states and local communities address the threat of drunk drivers; educating road users about the risks associated with distracted driving; regulating safety standards and investigating safety defects in motor vehicles; establishing and enforcing fuel economy standards; conducting research on driver behavior and traffic safety; and providing consumer information on issues ranging from child passenger safety to impaired driving. For more information, visit www.nhtsa.gov.

The Ad Council 
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of public service campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit Adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or view our PSAs on YouTube.

Casanova Pendrill
Casanova Pendrill is one of the leading Hispanic integrated communications agencies in the U.S. Founded in 1984, the company is headquartered in Costa Mesa, CA with full-service offices in New York and Detroit, and handles Hispanic advertising and integrated communications services for Fortune 500 clients like General Mills, Nestle, Chevrolet, U.S. Army, and the California Lottery, among others. Casanova has been affiliated with McCann Worldgroup since 1999.