As the national observance of Child Passenger Safety Week unfolds, Tennessee officials are placing the spotlight on the crucial role that car seats play in protecting young passengers. According to new data from the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, toddlers under the age of 4 are significantly more at risk in vehicle accidents when not properly restrained. Specifically, they’re 85 percent more likely to die or sustain severe injury in a crash if unrestrained, as detailed on the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s website.
Looking at the period from January 2024 to September 2025, the state of Tennessee has seen nearly 15,000 children under 4 involved in car crashes. While 70 percent of these children were safely harnessed in child restraint systems, a startling 141 were completely unrestrained, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security’s figures. During the same timespan, crashes tragically claimed the lives of fourteen children under the age of 4.
The concern is not just one of legal compliance, but one of utmost urgency for child safety. As Jeff Long, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, put it, the use of car seats is “one of the most important choices we can make,” an assertion he made clear in their published statement. Tennessee law sets specific guidelines for car seats, mandating that infants under 1 year old or weighing less than 20 pounds must occupy a rear-facing child restraint, and kids aged 1 through 3 need to remain in a car seat until they outgrow it, then transitioning to a forward-facing seat…