State police holding free checks of child safety seats in Washington, Greene counties
As part of a statewide effort, state police in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties are offering free child safety seat checks next week.
“Parents and caregivers are encouraged to educate themselves and seek out assistance to properly install child passenger safety seats,” said state police Commissioner Col. Robert Evanchick. “Keeping our youngest passengers safe should be a priority for everyone. Troopers who are certified as child passenger safety seat technicians are available to assist anyone who has questions or needs help installing a child seat.”
In Greene County, checks will be conducted from 1 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Carmichaels Volunteer Fire Department, 420 W. George St., Carmichaels.
Washington County residents can visit South Hill Toyota, 2403 Washington Road, Canonsburg, from 2 to 8 p.m. Sept. 23.
The Fayette County check will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Charlie’s Classy Clean, 104 Keighley St., Oliver. Drivers are asked to bring the owner’s manual for their vehicle and instruction book for the car seat.
A Westmoreland County check will be conducted at Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services, 100 Pleasant Valley Road, Belle Vernon. That check will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. Sept. 22.
Under state law, children under the age of 2 must be secured in a rear-facing car seat, and children under the age of 4 must be restrained in an approved child safety seat. Children must ride in a booster seat until they are 8 years old.
According to national statistics, car seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury by up to 71% for infants and 59% for toddlers; however,46% of car seats and booster seats are installed or used incorrectly.
The checks are part of “National Child Passenger Safety Week,” which runs from this Sunday through Sept. 25. During the checks, technicians will conduct free seat fittings. The technicians will also check the seats for suitability, give instruction on proper instillation or install the seats, and explain how to properly harness a child into the seat.
“The best way to protect your child is to place them in the right car seat for their age and size and to correctly secure it in the back seat of the vehicle,” said Angela Osterhuber, Director of the Traffic Injury Prevention Project.
From January through June, state police have conducted 406 child safety seat inspections and discovered 239 cases of misuse. Throughout 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted seat checks, but police completed more than 850 checks and found more than 350 misuses by drivers. In 2019, over 1,600 checks were completed with more than 600 misuses observed.