*National Child Passenger Safety Week*
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive January-June 2005:
*National Child Passenger Safety Week*
In honor of National Child Passenger Safety Week (2/13-2/19) I'll be posting different CPS Topics.
To start off here are some CPS Resources:
NHTSA
AAP
CarSeat.org
CPSafety.org
SeatCheck.org
SafeKids.org
Trina
Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician
Safe Kids Media Center - National CPS Week
Local SAFE KIDS coalitions across the country will hold car seat inspections at Chevrolet dealerships in observance of Child Passenger Safety Week. Free inspections will be performed by certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians with an emphasis on training parents and caregivers to install and adjust their car seats correctly.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of children under 14. Properly used, a car seat reduces the risk of death by 71 percent for rear-facing infants and 54 percent for forward-facing toddlers. All children under 40 pounds must be restrained in an appropriate car seat every time they ride — whether in the family car, traveling with friends or relatives, or in a rental car or taxi. Bigger kids need to be in booster seats until they are about 8 years old and about 5 feet tall.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 73 percent of all child passenger restraints — more than 80 percent of car seats and about 40 percent of booster seats — are used incorrectly. In a crash, a child restrained incorrectly is 3.5 times more likely to be seriously injured than a child who is properly restrained.
A CPS Technician's job is to teach you, the parent or caregiver, how to install and adjust your car seat. It is a parent's responsibility to make sure all children in a moving car are properly restrained at all times. Think of the inspection as a private lesson in the correct use of your car seat with your child in your vehicle.
Why not just let the experts install your seat for you? Because you will occasionally need to remove a car seat and reinstall it later – to clean the car interior, to make room for adult passengers when your child is not in the car, or to transport your child in a relative's car or a rental car. You also need to adjust the seat's harness straps as your child grows, and for some restraint systems, the adjustments are made on the back of the seat. So you need to know how to install your child's seat, and a technician's role is to show you how to do it right.
An inspection usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. Bring your child, the owner's manual for your vehicle and the intstruction booklet for your car seat.
CPS Technicians do not make recommendations about specific brands or models of car seats or booster seats. They will help you determine what kind of passenger restraint is most appropriate for your child — a rear-facing infant seat, a convertible seat, a forward-facing seat, a backless or high-backed booster seat or safety belts — but in each of those categories, every model on the market in the United States has passed the same crash tests and meets the same federal standards.
Although local SAFE KIDS coalitions make special efforts to raise awareness during Child Passenger Safety Week, of course we want every week to be a child passenger safety week. Inspections are available all year.
Find a CPS Tech in your area
No CPS Tech in my area...where else could I go? Tennessee Highway Patrol Headquarters?
Candis, did you try SeatCheck.org? Or check the Safe Kids chapter for your area. Not all police and fire stations have certified CPS Techs on staff.
Okay the Health department, so that means that person listed is certified...?
Thanks Trina!
We just moved into a nice subdivision and I can't tell you how many times I've seen folks drive to the playground with their toddlers on their lap, in the front seat, or just loose in the car. It is as if they think that b/c it is a short trip their child will be safe!!!! Our neighborhood is still under construction so their are a million construction guys that drive 90mph through our streets - not safe at all!!!
My dh and I always comment "Well, we know those neighbors will never be babysitters for us!"
All the best!
Amy
Amy, I see the same thing way too often! I'm often tempted to yell at parents putting their children in the front seat, unrestrained, or on their laps, like "Are you living under a rock?? Don't you know what could happen?" Trina, I'm going to find a tech in our area, because Jettas have a poorly designed LATCH system, I'd rather know for sure the seats are in right.
Candis, yes, if they're listed they're certified.
Oh, my biggest pet peeve is unrestrained kids! My DKs now comment when they see CPS no-nos.
Crystal, if LATCH in your Jetta isn't working out it's perfectly OK to use the seat belts to install car seats. As long as used properly both are equally safe.
A great CPS resource...
Keeping Kids Safe During Crashes: Every Child Deserves a Safe Ride
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