Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week September 15^th– 21^st.

Dover – It’s not always easy to know how to correctly secure children in car seats in all types of vehicles.  Three out of four parents in Delaware do not install their child’s car seat properly. So one week each year, Delaware and the rest of the nation celebrate National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week.  This special week, September 15^th – 21st, is dedicated to promoting the correct and consistent use of child safety seats.  Children using incorrectly installed car seats face dramatically increased rates of death and injury in the event of a crash.

OHS child passenger safety fitting stations will also be open during the week taking appointments for car seat checks.  Fitting stations are conveniently located statewide and 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.  Call for an appointment at one of these locations.

Wilmington DMV                                Dover DMV

2230 Hessler Blvd                               303 Transportation Cir.

302.434.3234                                      302.744.2749

Tuesday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm               Wednesday 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Wednesday 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm          Thursday 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Thursday 9:00 am – 1:00 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:

Wednesday Sept. 18^th from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

University of Delaware – Early Learning Center

489 Wyoming Rd. Newark, DE 19716

Open only to Early Learning Center Parents by scheduled apt.

Contact (302) 434-3234

Wednesday Sept. 18^th 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm

A.I. Dupont Children’s Hospital

1600 Rockland Road

Wilmington, DE 19803

By appointment

Jennifer McCue (302) 651-6733

Saturday Sept. 21, 2013 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Lewes Community Bank

16982 Kings Highway

Lewes, DE 19958

Open to the Public- No Appointment Necessary

There are 4 steps for child safety as they grow; rear facing, forward facing, booster seat use, and seat belt use.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced new child safety seat recommendations in 2011 for parents to keep their children in rear facing car seats until the age of 2.  Delaware law sets a minimum standard that gives parents flexibility to meet the new best practice recommendation set by the AAP and the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).   Delaware law simply requires a child to be “properly secured according to manufacturer’s instructions” in a child safety seat “that is appropriate for the child’s age/weight and height” up to age 8 or 65 lbs in weight, whichever comes first.  Ages 8 – 16 must be secured in a seat belt.

OHS is encouraging parents to follow the wording in the NHTSA guidelines which were also updated to closely mirror the new recommendations by the AAP, but may be easier for parents to understand and follow.  These guidelines recommend that parents keep their 1 – 3 year olds “rear facing as long as possible”, and focus more attention on obeying the manufactures weight and height limits on individual seats using age as a broad guide for rear facing vs. forward facing instead.

Parents who would like to learn more about the 4 steps for child safety and to find the times and dates of car seat check locations can visit OHS website at http://www.ohs.delaware.gov/carseat, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DEHighwaySafe, or Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ArriveAliveDE.

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