Child car seat safety checks are being held around Georgia, including one in Augusta. The events are part of National Child Passenger Safety Week Sept. 18 through 24.
The safety check in Augusta will be 2 to 4 p. m. on Thursday, Sept. 22 at Buy Buy Baby in the Augusta Exchange on Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway. SafeKids of Greater Augusta is joining with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and the Department of Public health to offer the checks.
“One of the leading causes of injury and death of children is motor vehicle crashes. And we see that over here at Augusta University Trauma Center, where I work,” said coordinator Renee McCabe. “And sadly, our county, Richmond County this past year, had the highest rate of fatalities of children.”
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration more than 600 child passengers died in traffic crashes in 2019. NHTSA said 38% of those children were unrestrained.
During the safety seat inspections, technicians will make sure the seat is properly installed, is not subject of a recall and teach parents how to properly install them
“A majority of child safety seats found on the road are not properly installed and could cause the seat to not work as designed to protect a child in the event of a crash,” Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said. “While we hope no one is ever in a traffic crash, having a child safety seat checked regularly assures parents and child caregivers that their precious passengers will be properly restrained in the event of a crash.”
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“We actually see like three out of four car seats are not installed correctly,” McCabe said. “And that can make a difference in a crash situation with a child, whether they’re safe or not.”
McCabe said car seats in stores have been crash tested based on federal motor vehicle standards. She said people should never buy a secondhand car seat because they don’t know its history.
In Georgia, the requires all children under eight years of age to ride in a safety seat that meets guidelines for the child’s height and weight.
McCabe said one mistake they see often is turning the seat to face forward too soon.
“Those standards have changed. We always follow the American Academy of Pediatrics and NHTSA standards. First it was age one you can turn around and then it was two. Now you want to keep them rear facing to the upper weight limit of the car seats,” she said.
No appointment is necessary for the Sept. 22 child seat safety checks.
McCabe said anyone unable to attend the Thursday event can call the Columbia County Fire Department or Augusta University Police to schedule an appoint for a child seat safety check.
South Carolina also offers car seat safety checks. Locations can be found at www.scdhec.gov/carseats.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
