[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6443-6444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3677]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 29 / Wednesday, February 12, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 6443]]
Proclamation 6972 of February 8, 1997
National Child Passenger Safety Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Children are our Nation's most precious gift, and one
of our most profound responsibilities is protecting
their health, well-being, and safety. Nowhere is this
duty more critical than on America's streets and
highways.
Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for
America's young people. It is tragic that a high
proportion of these deaths could be prevented, but are
not. For example, we know that seat belts save lives--
last year they prevented the deaths of almost 10,000
Americans--and, yet, many still fail to wear them.
I encourage all Americans to take a few simple steps to
ensure that their families travel safely. The most
important rule is also the simplest: The safest place
for children is the back seat. Also, parents and
guardians must always make sure that children are
secured, either in a locked seat belt or in an
appropriate child safety seat.
I commend the Department of Transportation for its
``Patterns for Life'' program, begun in 1996 to focus
attention on correct child safety seat use and the
proper positioning of children and their safety seats
away from air bags. Working through national safety
organizations and State public safety and highway
offices, this program offers a network of qualified
child passenger safety trainers to provide communities
with the valuable resources they need to reduce motor
vehicle-related deaths and injuries.
Laws exist in every State and the District of Columbia
that require proper restraints for younger children.
However, 40 percent of our children under five are
still not properly restrained. We must do better to
enforce the existing laws and protect our precious
cargo.
The steps we take now will make our roads safer and our
children more secure. My Administration is striving to
increase the use of seat belts throughout the Nation.
We are also working with automobile makers, car
dealers, private organizations, and insurance companies
to teach parents how to install child safety seats
properly, and new technologies will eventually make air
bags safer for children.
[[Page 6444]]
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim February 9 through February
15, 1997, as National Child Passenger Safety Week. I
urge all Americans to help reduce injuries and the
tragic loss of life on our highways by buckling up
every child in an approved restraint, in the vehicle's
back seat. And let us all help spread these important
child safety messages throughout our communities. By
doing so, we can save many young lives.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-3677
Filed 2-11-97; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
