Child Safety Seat Inspections Offered Free of Charge

Four of Five Child Safety Seats Are Installed Improperly

A recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that 59 percent of children, when riding with an unrestrained driver, were also not buckled into a child safety seat. In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in children aged 14 and under. Injuries and deaths are caused when children are not properly buckled or their car seats are not installed correctly.

On Friday, May 23, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Children’s Safety Center, the Injury Free Coalition for Kids-Baltimore, Central Maryland Regional Safe Communities, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Kaiser Permanente, Mix 106.5, State Highway Administration - Maryland Highway Safety Office and Maryland Kids in Safety Seats will conduct child passenger safety seat inspections for the public, free of charge, during the Summer Safety Extravaganza in the exhibition hall at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, in Timonium, Md.

“The importance of using child passenger seats is unquestionable. Yet, four out of every five car seats are used incorrectly. We want to make sure that this safety message is passed on, especially with the Memorial Day holiday weekend coming up,” said Jackie Milani, CPS, director of the Central Maryland Regional Safe Communities Center  at Johns Hopkins.

Ms. Milani said, “The Center is also educating Marylanders about the new child safety seat law that will take effect on October 1. It requires children six and under, regardless of weight, or any child weighing 40 pounds or less, regardless of age, be secured in a federally approved child safety seat. However, safest practice recommends keeping children in safety seats until they are eight years of age and weigh 80 pounds.”

What:  Child passenger safety seat inspections, free of charge, and interactive summer safety displays

When:   Friday, May 23, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Where: Maryland State Fairgrounds, in Timonium, Md.