In honor of National Child Passenger Safety Week St. Mary’s is hosting Free Car Seat Inspections by Appointment on September 19th
St. Mary’s Hospital for Children will offer free car seat inspections this Saturday, September 19, 2015 from 8:00am to 1:00pm in recognition of National Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs from September 13th to September 19th. Appointments are required in advance and can be made by calling 718- 281-8571. Inspections will be held at St. Mary’s Hospital for Children, 29-01 216 Street, Bayside, NY 11360.
St. Mary’s continues to be a strong advocate for child safety and for over a decade the hospital has been working with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee to train families on how to properly install infant, toddler, and booster seats. In their work, St. Mary’s certified child passenger safety technicians have found that 4 out of 5 car seats are used/installed improperly.
A properly installed car seat can mean the difference between life and death in the case of a crash, and it can also dramatically reduce the risk of injury for babies and toddlers. New York State law mandates that children use a safety seat until they are eight years old. Using a safety seat the right way reduces the risk of child passenger fatalities by seventy-one percent and serious injury risk by sixty-seven percent.
St. Mary’s encourages families to make every ride a safe ride by following simple safety tips.
SAFETY TIPS FROM SEATCHECK.ORG
1. Safety experts recommend that children ride rearward-facing in the vehicle until they are two years old or until they reach either the height or weight limit of their rear facing child safety seat.
2. Infant carriers are only used rearward-facing in the vehicle. Convertible child seats can be used either rearward-facing or forward-facing in the vehicle. Convertible child seats often have a higher weight limit in the rearward-facing direction than infant carriers do, so they can be used rearward-facing by children who have outgrown their infant carrier but are still less than at least two years old. Children should remain rearward-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their convertible child seat.
3. Never place a rear-facing infant seat in front of a passenger air bag.
4. Children who are two years old or who have outgrown their rear-facing convertible child seat can ride forward-facing in the vehicle. Children should remain in a forward-facing child seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the child seat.
5. All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for the child seat should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belts fit properly. If the child cannot sit with knees bent over the vehicle’s seat cushion while the child’s back is against the seatback, they should use a belt-positioning booster seat.
6. After outgrowing a booster seat, children under age 13 should always use a seat belt and ride in the back seat. Remember, kids of all ages are safest when properly restrained in the back seat.
7. Old/used child safety seats should not be used unless you are certain they have never been in a crash and you have all the parts (including instructions). Seats that are 6 years old or older should be discarded and never used.
8. Always read both the vehicle owner’s manual and the instructions that come with the child safety seat.
9. It is important to remember that the “best” child safety seat is the one that correctly fits the child, the vehicle, and is used correctly every time.
10. Get your child’s safety seat checked!
To have your car seat checked by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians at St. Mary’s, please call 718- 281-8571 to make an appointment. Spanish-speaking technicians are available. Appointments are also available year-round if you cannot make this event.
For more information, visit https://www.stmaryskids.org/resources/car-seat-safety.
