How many times have you prepared for a trip by double checking to make sure you have enough gas for the trip or making sure your seat belt is on?
But did you remember to double check your children’s, grandchildren’s or friend’s car seat to make sure it was properly installed?
According to the data from 2006, the National Center for Health Statistics (HSHS) reported:
- The overall critical misuse for child restraints is about 73 percent.
- Infant seats have the highest percent of critical misuse.
- Rear-facing convertible seats have the next highest percentage of misuse.
- Reports also stated motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death for ages of 3 to 14 year olds.
Research on the effectiveness of child safety seats has found:
- Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (younger than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1 to 4 years old) in passenger cars.
- Among children ages 4 to 8, the use of booster seats reduces the risk of nonfatal injury by 45 percent compared to seat belts.
The Affton Fire Protection District has a Child Safety Seat Program. This program allows Fire District residents to make an appointment to have their child safety seat checked.
The Affton Fire Protection District currently has two (2) Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPS) on staff. The technicians have been trained by instructors from Safe Kids and will check your child safety seat to ensure that it meets current standards and regulations and to ensure it is properly installed.
If needed, the technician will also provide instructions on how to correctly install and use child safety seats for children of all ages.
To participate in the Child Safety Program:
- Must be a resident of the Affton Fire District (proof of residency may be required)
- Must make an appointment. Appointments are made between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., based on the availability of a CPS technician.
To schedule an inspection, please call the District office at 314-631-1803 ext. 6 for an appointment.
If you are not an Affton resident you can locate an Inspection Station by searching for them at National Highway Transportation Safety Administration at http://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm