Today, more parents and caregivers than ever before secure their kids in child safety seats. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 1996 to 1998, child safety seat use increased from 85 percent to 97 percent for infants less than one year old, and from 60 percent to 91 percent for toddlers, ages one to four. That's one reason child fatalities have dropped 16 percent since 1996.

But amid this good news is an alarming fact: too many parents still don't use the full range of child safety seats, especially booster seats. Safety experts strongly recommend that children should not be moved into regular seat belts until they are at least four feet, nine inches (4' 9") tall, weigh about 80 pounds, and are approximately eight years old. And DC law now requires booster seats for children up to age 8. Yet, booster seat use for children ages four to eight is still less than 10 percent nationally.

As part of Buckle Up America, the Metropolitan Police Department encourages all parents and caregivers to know about and follow the law, to acquire and use age-appropriate child safety restraints, to have their child safety seats inspected, and to follow the four essential steps to protecting children in motor vehicles.

For more information, view the following resources offered to parents and caregivers about Child Passenger Safety:

• The Law in DC
• Four Steps to Child Passenger Safety
• Car Seat Fitting Stations
• Resources
• Links

So buckle up DC—every child, every time. It's the law in the District of Columbia, and it's just good safety sense.