Not only is it illegal, but it’s unconscionable for an adult to let a child ride in the car without being safely buckled in.
Yet it still occurs fairly often, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The federal agency says that more than a third of the time when children under the age of 13 are killed in car crashes, they are not wearing a seat belt or riding in a car seat.
In Mississippi, a state which has been slow to embrace seat-belt usage, the fatality numbers suggest the negligence is alarmingly high. Citing data compiled from the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, the website Safewise.com shows Mississippi with by far the highest rate of fatal vehicles crashes involving children at almost three times the national average.
Mississippi does not always do right by its children when it comes to government policy. But this is a case of family and friends making private decisions that put children at risk. That makes it all the more inexcusable.
