From Sept. 21 – 26, 2026, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) joins the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for National Child Passenger Safety Week to remind parents and caregivers to ensure all child passengers are properly restrained to reduce the risk of injury or fatality.

“Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children,” said THSO Director Buddy Lewis. “In order to protect our most vulnerable roadway passengers, we should make sure they’re secure every trip, every time. This means using child safety seats and ensuring they’re properly installed.”

According to Tennessee’s Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN), there were 8,959 traffic crashes statewide involving an unrestrained occupant aged 18 or younger during 2021 to 2026, as of Aug. 25, 2026. Counties ranked with the highest number of crashes involving unrestrained child occupants during 2021 to 2026 include Shelby (2,120 crashes), Rutherford (788 crashes), Davidson (537 crashes), Hamilton (522 crashes), Knox (331 crashes), Montgomery (222 crashes), Sumner (213 crashes), Tipton (184 crashes), Sevier (182 crashes), and Madison (175 crashes).

The THSO works to improve child passenger safety education and spread awareness through the Tennessee Occupant Protection Center, a THSO grant-funded program dedicated to reducing traffic fatalities by promoting occupant protection and providing resources for Tennesseans.

“Tennessee’s misuse rate of child safety seats is 78 percent,” said Director Julie Brewer from the Tennessee Occupant Protection Center. “Our mission is to educate adults on how to properly protect child passengers in the event of a crash. Common issues include children being in the wrong types of car seats for their age and size, and car seats being installed incorrectly — both of which leave children vulnerable to injury.”

Children are best protected in a traffic crash when they are correctly buckled in the right seat for their age and size. Car seats and booster seats have height and weight limits. To maximize safety, children should stay in each seat until they outgrow either of those limits. The safest place for all children under 13 is the back seat, as frontal air bags are designed for adult passengers.

Keeping a child in the right seat for their age and size can make all the difference in a crash. Once a child outgrows a rear-facing car seat, he or she is ready for a forward-facing car seat with a harness. Only after reaching the maximum height or weight limits of a forward-facing car seat — which takes longer than most parents think — a child should be buckled in a booster seat until large enough to fit in an adult seat belt correctly.

Booster seats are a critical step between harnessed car seats and adult seat belts. If the seat belt doesn’t fit a child correctly, it won’t offer them the optimal protection in a crash. Once a child is ready to use a seat belt, parents should ensure that it fits correctly — that the seat belt lies across the upper thighs and is snug across the shoulder and chest, away from the face and neck.

To assist parents and caregivers with best practices and proper installation child safety seats, the THSO offers an instructional video narrated by Director Julie Brewer from the Tennessee Occupant Protection Center: https://youtu.be/07ht7xFvd9c

During National Child Passenger Safety Week, the Tennessee Occupant Protection Center will host child seat safety checks statewide, leading up to National Seat Check Saturday on Sept. 26. To access a certified child passenger safety technician in your area, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org/cps to locate a fitting station near you.