AAA offers free car and booster seat checks
COSHOCTON – In 2014 AAA Ohio Auto Club began certifying staff to perform free car and booster seat checks in-store for local parents and caregivers. Nancy Zeigler, the Coshocton AAA store manager is a certified child passenger safety technician. Local parents and caregivers can call her and make an appointment to have their seats checked for free. They don’t have to be AAA members. Since the program was launched in September 2014, AAA has performed more than 400 car and booster seat checks in its stores.
Child passenger safety is a very important issue, as car crashes remain the leading cause of death for children. In passenger cars, child safety seats reduce the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers. While most caregivers believe they have installed the seat correctly, child passenger safety technicians find that more than half of seats are installed incorrectly.
Top Car Seat Mistakes (found on SafeSeats4Kids.AAA.com)
- Moving a child out of a booster seat too soon
- Not installing the car seat tight enough
- Harness straps too loose
- Retainer clip (chest clip) too low
- Turning a child forward facing too soon
- Allowing a child younger than age 13 to ride in the front seat
- Forgetting the top tether
- Adding additional padding, toys or mirrors to a child’s car seat
- Installing a car seat using LATCH in the center of a vehicle when not permitted by the auto manufacturer
- Transporting unsecured, heavy items, including pets, in the vehicle
- Installing a car seat using both LATCH and the seat belt
- Wearing bulky coats/sweaters while buckled into a car seat
Caregivers can ensure their seat is installed correctly, and that their child is in the correct restraint, by having a certified child passenger safety technician like Zeigler check the seat. During these checks, technicians will educate caregivers on proper use of child restraints, the importance of registering seats with the manufacturer, and what to expect if the seat is recalled.
Category: People & Places
