This week is Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week. The week is meant to bring awareness to how important it is to make sure that all children are properly secured in an appropriate car seat or seatbelt.
According to Safe Kids CT, 1 out of 5 car seats in Connecticut is used properly. When installed correctly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says car seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury in a crash by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers.
Want to double check that your car seat is installed properly? The NHTSA has a virtual car seat check, here.
If you’d prefer to have your child’s car seat checked in person, there are about 75 fitting stations in the state. You can find a list of fitting stations in Fairfield County, here.
So, what are the Child Passenger Safety Laws in Connecticut? Safe Kids CT outlines the following:
Infants must remain rear-facing until they are at least both 2 years old and 30 pounds.
Toddlers must be in a forward facing car seat with a five point harness until 5 years old and 40 pounds.
Children should ride in a booster until they reach 8 years old and 60 pounds. Children who ride in a booster seat must use a lap and shoulder belt.
Children, tweens and teens must be in a seat belt whenever they ride in a vehicle.
It’s also recommended that children ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old. All people and objects should be properly restrained whenever they are in a vehicle.
Information in this article is from Safe Kids CT and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration