Safe Kids Maricopa County is offering free car seat safety checks for families this weekend.
On Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., parents can drive through and have your child’s car seat or booster seat inspected carefully by a trained safety expert to ensure proper installation.
Locations
Mesa
Walmart
240 W Baseline Road
Goodyear
Palm Valley Pavilions
235 N. Litchfield Road
There are many factors that are involved in insuring car seats and boosters are installed correctly. Data from both AAA Arizona and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that more than half of all car seats brought in for inspection are not properly installed. Only one in five parents look to free local events for help to insure proper installation.
Below are three common mistakes parents make with car seat installation:
- Having the car seat installation be too loose. Failing to use the tether when installing a forward-facing car seat with either the lower anchors or seat belt, and leaving harness straps too loose when securing a child in a car seat.
- Children are often transitioned out of the appropriate car seats before it is safe to do so. More than a quarter of children are moved from forward-facing car seats to booster seats too soon, and more than 90 percent of children using lap-and-shoulder seat belts under the age of 10 should still be in a car seat or booster seat.
- Parents are less likely to seek car seat inspections as children grow into forward-facing and booster car seats. Child passenger safety technicians inspect about four times the amount of rear-facing infant car seats than they do forward-facing car seats. 73% of forward-facing seats are not correctly installed.
