Highways

HONOLULU – The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) announced today that certified child passenger safety technicians will offer free virtual car seat safety checks and education to parents and caregivers as part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs from September 20-26, 2020. The week is dedicated to teaching parents and caregivers about the importance of correctly choosing, installing, and using car seats, booster seats, and seat belts. Parents will also be reminded of the importance of registering car seats with their manufacturers so they can be notified in the event of a recall.

The virtual car seat checks will be conducted as part of National Seat Check Saturday on September 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will include instruction on how to install and use car seats correctly. Technicians will also help determine if your child is in the right seat for their age and size and explain the importance of registering car seats with their manufacturers so parents and caregivers can be notified if there is a recall. To make an appointment for a free virtual one-on-one care seat check call 527-2588.

“As a parent or caregiver, we know you have a long list of things you do to show your children just how much you love them, and one of the top priorities is keeping them safe,” said Lisa Dau, Injury Keiki Coordinator for the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition (KIPC). “You need to make sure you are using the correct car seat, booster seat, or seat belt based on our child’s age and size to know that they are properly restrained in the vehicle.”

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading killer of children, and the latest research from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that nearly half of car seats are misused. Using age- and size-appropriate car seats and installing them correctly are the best ways to reduce these deaths. Nationally one-third of children 12 and younger who died in crashes in 2018 while riding in cars, pickups, vans, and SUVs were unbuckled. Many of those kids could have survived if they had been buckled up.

NHTSA recommends keeping children rear-facing as long as possible, up to the top height and weight allowed by the particular seats. It is the best way to keep them safe. Once a child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, he or she is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and tether. After outgrowing the forward-facing car seat, a child should be placed in a booster seat until tall enough to fit in a seat belt properly. The safest place for all kids under 13 is in the back seat.

In Hawaii all front and back seat passengers are required by law to wear their seat belts while traveling in a vehicle.

For more information on child car seat safety in Hawaii go to www.kipchawaii.org

###