Phoenix Children's Hospital Joins Forces with Cincinnati Children's and Toyota

The number one factor of child deaths in Arizona is related to motor vehicle crashes.

Phoenix Children’s Hospital announced it partnered with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Toyota to bring the Buckle Up for Life program, a national injury prevention program, to Phoenix.

Building on a partnership that began in 2004 between one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals–Cincinnati Children’s–and the global automotive manufacturer–Toyota, the Buckle Up for Life program is designed to educate the entire family on critical car safety behaviors and provides free child car seats to families in need.

Car crashes are the number one killer of children in the United States between the ages 1 and 12.

Additionally, almost half of all African American (45%) and Hispanic (46%) children who died in crashes were not buckled up (2009–2010).

According to the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program, in 2012, 64 children died in Arizona in motor vehicle-related crashes–the number one factor being lack of use of vehicle restraint.”

Beyond the community programs in cities across the U.S., the mobile-friendly, Buckle Up for Life website offers parents and caregivers easy to use tools and videos to help them identify and install the proper car seats for their child.

ABOUT BUCKLE UP FOR LIFE

Buckle Up for Life is a national, community-based injury prevention program, created in 2004 in a partnership between trauma specialists at Cincinnati Children’s and Toyota. The program’s main goal is to help save lives by educating communities about the number one cause of death of children under the age of 12 in the U.S.

Buckle Up for Life works with local hospitals, churches and other trusted community partners in cities across the United States to address the economic, cultural and language barriers around motor vehicle safety. Over a six-week period, the program’s medical experts and trained specialists work closely with participants of all ages and backgrounds to deliver vital safety information in an engaging, culturally-sensitive and memorable way. To date, the program has donated more than 40,000 child car seats to families in need and has made a significant impact, including tripling the proper use of child car seats among program participants in one city.

Through an expanded multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment from Toyota in 2013, Buckle Up for Life will continue to expand to new cities each year while leading a national movement to help elevate the conversation about this critical issue. To take the Buckle Up for Life pledge, learn more about the program and find child passenger safety resources, please visit www.buckleupforlife.org.