JERSEY CITY — Your children are your most precious possession. Are you sure their car seats and booster seats are properly installed?
Safe Kids Hudson will make sure on Saturday, September 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jersey City Medical Center, a Barnabas Health facility, and the Jersey City Police department will have English- and Spanish-speaking certified child passenger safety technicians available to provide free hands-on instruction on installing car and booster seats at the Target Store Parking Lot, 100 14th Street, Jersey City.
“Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent,” said Marissa Fisher, RN, Safe Kids Hudson County Coordinator, and a trauma nurse at Jersey City Medical Center. “We want all parents to make sure their car seats are used and installed correctly and that the whole family is buckled up every time on every ride. And we’re here to help.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), during 2013 638 children ages 12 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and more than 127,250 were injured. One CDC study found that, in one year, more than 618,000 children ages 0 – 12 rode in vehicles without the use of a child safety seat or booster seat or a seat belt at least some of the time. Of the children ages 12 years and younger who died in a crash in 2013, 38% were not buckled up.
Car seat inspections offer drivers the chance to receive assistance and guidance from certified car seat technicians regarding proper installation of their child safety and booster seats. Safe Kids Buckle Up events continue throughout the year.
Parents can get more information on child safety seats by visiting the Safe Kids website at safekids.org.