Jersey City Medical Center, a Barnabas Health facility, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will host a free car seat check and installation on Saturday, May 9 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Target Shopping Center (100 14th Street) in Jersey City, near Newport.
Parents can bring their car, car seat, and child to the event. Certified child passenger safety technicians will be available to provide one-on-one “hands-on” help with installation and answer parents’ questions.
Technicians will also be able to help parents identify and correct the issues they face with car seats, such as:
• Right seat: Is your child’s seat appropriate for their age, weight and height?
• Right place: Is your seat in the right place, which is the back seat of your car where your children belong until they are 13 years old?
• Right direction: Is your child’s car seat facing the rear, which is how it should be until they are at least a year old?
• Inch test: Shake your car seat at the base after it is installed. Does it move more than one inch? If so, it’s not tight enough.
• Pinch test: After installing, with the chest clip at armpit level, pinch the strap at your child’s shoulder. Is there any excess webbing to pinch? If so, it hasn’t been done correctly.
Studies have shown that 73 percent of car seats are not being used correctly. Five safety steps every parent should take include keeping their children in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible; ideally until age two; selecting the correct seat for the weight, height or age of the child; tightening the harness enough; and knowing when to let kids ride in the front seat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in three children killed in automobile crashes every year are either not in car seats or are in car seats installed incorrectly.
With the heat rising, it is also important to remember not to leave a child in the car.