Delaware’s Office of Highway Safety wants to ensure all kids are properly secured in their car seats on the road.
As part of next week's National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, the office is hosting car seat checks at DMV offices in Wilmington and Dover and other locations starting Tuesday. Parents and others will be able to learn how to correctly install their car seats, determine which seat to use, and common installation mistakes.
Office of Highway Safety spokesperson Alison Kirk says that the death of a two-year-old in Lewes last month, who wasn’t properly restrained during an accident, is a tragic reminder of the importance of making sure seats are correctly installed.
Kirk notes three out of four parents in Delaware do not install their car seats properly.
“There’s the rear-facing, the forward-facing, booster seat use and seat belt use," said Kirk. "I think a lot of parents don’t know what to do: when to turn the kid forward-facing; when to put them into a booster seat; and when it is okay to have the kid come out of the booster seat and just sit in a regular seat belt.”
Kirk adds part of the difficulty stems from car seat designs changing from year to year.
“Even the cars are changing -- the way cars are being made -- and how you install that new seat into that new car sometimes might not make any sense, if you just look at it. So, it is evolving. They are getting better, but it is getting more complicated too,” said Kirk
Delaware law requires children up to age eight or under 65 pounds to be properly secured in child safety seat according to the manufacturers guidelines.
If you are interested in having your car seat check, you can go to one of the following locations where fitting stations will be staffed by certified child passenger safety technicians who will inspect the car seat for correct installation and show you how to properly position your child in the seat:
Wilmington DMV (Call to schedule an appointment)
2230 Hessler Blvd
434-3234
Tuesday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Wednesday 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Thursday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Dover DMV (Call to schedule an appointment)
303 Transportation Cir.
744-2749
Wednesday 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Thursday 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
OHS is also offering other opportunities statewide for families to get their car seats checked for free throughout the week. Car seat checks will be conducted at the following locations:
University of Delaware (Early Learning Center Open only to Early Learning Center Parents. Call to schedule an appointment)
489 Wyoming Rd. Newark, DE 19716
434-3234
Wednesday Sept. 18th from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm
A.I. Dupont Children’s Hospital (Call to schedule an appointment)
1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, DE 19803
Jennifer McCue: 651-6733
Lewes Community Bank (Open to the public. No appointment necessary.)
16982 Kings Highway
Lewes, DE 19958
Saturday Sept. 21, 2013 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
