Wednesday, February 06, 2008 Tribute to Jack Fitzgerald Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a longtime advocate for child passenger safety, my constituent Jack Fitzgerald, President of Fitzgerald Auto Malls.   As you may know, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 2 to 14 and the leading cause of injury-related death for children under age 2.  We know that when installed and used correctly, child safety seats and safety belts can prevent injury and save lives.  In fact, young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.   In order to ensure that child safety seats are properly used and installed, car seat check-up events, like those sponsored by Safe Kids Worldwide, are essential.  At these events, child passenger safety technicians teach families how to safely transport their children and help make sure everyone in a vehicle is buckled up correctly on every ride. On average, technicians spend about 30 minutes with each child.  These events, most of which are open to the public, are conducted by Safe Kids coalitions in central locations such as automobile dealerships, hospitals, community centers and shopping centers.   Since 1996, Safe Kids Worldwide has partnered with General Motors to help change the way parents and caregivers learn about child passenger safety.  More than 13 million people have been reached by the Safe Kids Buckle Up Program and, to date, there have been more than 44,000 events that bring much needed car seat inspection services and education to families across the country.   Safe Kids is well on its way to checking one million child safety seats.  Part of this success can be attributed to Jack Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Auto Malls.  In February 1999, Jack teamed up with Safe Kids Montgomery County in my home state of Maryland to hold a car seat check-up event.  At that event, Stephen Guarino, who was then 5 years old, was moved into a booster seat for a better fit just one day before the family vehicle was hit by a truck.  Mrs. Guarino and the police officers on the scene credit the saving of Stephen's life in that crash to the services received at the check-up event.   Since that incident, Fitzgerald Auto Malls has hosted hundreds of check-up events.  Working with Safe Kids Montgomery County, local government agencies, and police and fire departments,  Fitzgerald Auto Malls has inspected more than 35,000 child safety seats.  The dealership hosts monthly car seat inspections free of charge for anyone in the community.  If the monthly events are not compatible with a family's schedule, that family is encouraged to call the dealership to schedule a private appointment.  This service is only possible because Jack Fitzgerald has personally paid for his employees to become nationally certified car seat technicians.  In fact, more than 80 Fitzgerald Auto Mall employees have been trained to check a child's car seat for misuse.   I am honored to commend Jack Fitzgerald and the entire Fitzgerald Auto Malls family for their outstanding contributions to and involvement in our community.  I applaud them for being a role model for all public/private partnerships and for their steadfast commitment and determination to keeping kids safe on our Nation's roads.  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Jack Fitzgerald, a remarkable advocate for America's children.