August is Child Safety Awareness Month, and Florida officials are reminding motorists to always buckle up their kids.
Since 2014, crashes involving kids have increased by 14 percent. That’s according to figures from the Florida Highway Patrol.
Last year, more than half of the accidents involving a child who died as passenger in the car was the result of them not wearing a seatbelt.
Preliminary figures from 2017 also show more than 132,000 crashes in Florida involving kids under the age of 18 resulted in thousands of serious injuries and 134 deaths.
Throughout this month, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will be working to educate the public about child safety on state roadways.
That includes proper seat restraints, awareness of school zones and school buses, and never leaving a child in a hot car.
For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner .
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