Albany, NY - June 8, 2016 - The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) today announced that free child car seat inspections are available to parents and caregivers during the month of June in more than a dozen counties throughout all ten regions of the state.
As part of the Child Passenger Safety Program, state and local police agencies, along with various community safety partners, are offering free child car seat inspections by certified child passenger safety technicians. These technicians will use the model of "Learn, Practice, and Explain" to educate each caregiver on how to select a child restraint that will fit their child, fit their vehicle and be used correctly every time.
"New York State offers this free service to better protect our children when traveling," said Acting GTSC Chair and DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner Terri Egan. "Properly installed car seats can greatly reduce the risk of death and injury during a crash, so I encourage motorists to use this opportunity to make sure children are properly buckled into their car seats before hitting the road."
The goal of GTSC's campaign is to make sure all parents and caregivers are properly securing their children in the correct car safety restraint (rear-facing, forward-facing, booster seats, and seat belts) for their age and size, and to ensure the safety restraints are properly used and installed by parents and caregivers. Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children one to 13 years old, but according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars.
In November, Governor Cuomo announced the alarming results of Child Passenger Safety Week seat check events, during which 88 percent of the 931 seats inspected were found to be improperly installed. Technicians found that only 112 had been installed correctly, which demonstrates the importance of learning how to properly install car seats and taking advantage of the state and locally sponsored safety check events. A NHTSA survey released in 2012 revealed that 20 percent of all drivers of child passengers did not read any instructions on how to properly install their child restraints, yet 90 percent felt "confident" or "very confident" that their car seats and booster seats were installed correctly.
Below is a listing of child safety seat checks, broken down by region, available across the state from today until the end of June.
Capital Region:
June 11 — Child Safety Seat Check - Washington County
10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Granville EMS, 64 East Potter Avenue
Granville, NY 12832
Agency: Washington County Public Health
Contact: Elizabeth St. John at (518) 746-2400 ext. 3478
June 14 — Child Safety Seat Check - Schenectady County
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
YMCA of NENY, 44 Washington Avenue, Schenectady, NY 12305
Agency: Glenville Town Police Department
Contact: Sgt. BT Gillooley at (518) 348-0137 ext. 331
June 29 — Child Safety Seat Check - Albany County
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
State Police Latham, 760 Troy Schenectady Road, Latham, NY 12110
Agency: New York State Police
By Appointment Only
Contact: Trooper Donald Fougere at (518) 783-3258
Central New York:
June 17 — Child Safety Seat Check - Madison County
Rain date June 24
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Big Lots parking lot, 102 Utica Street, Hamilton, NY 13346
Agency: Madison County Health Department
Contact: Chrystal Johnson at (315) 336-2361
Finger Lakes:
June 9 — Child Safety Seat Check - Monroe County
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tompkins Bank of Castile, 724 Long Pond Road, Rochester, NY 14612
Agency: Greece Safe Kids
Contact: Pete Sidari at (585) 581-5430
June 18 — Child Safety Seat Check - Livingston County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Wentworth Motors, 139 Franklin Street, Dansville, NY 14437
Agency: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Livingston County, Traffic Safety Education Program
Contact: Katelyn Sanders at (585) 991-5420
Hudson Valley:
June 11 — Child Safety Seat Check - Westchester County
11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Crawford Park, 122 North Ridge Street, Rye Brook, NY 10573
Agency: Rye Brook
Contact: Luigi Greco at (914) 937-1020
June 11 — Child Safety Seat Check - Orange County
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Babies R Us, 88 Dunning Road, Middletown, NY 10940
Agency: Orange County Traffic Safety
Contact: Kecia Healy at protectwhatulove@gmail.com
June 11 — Child Safety Seat Check - Westchester County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
North Castle Police Department, 15 Bedford Road, Armonk, NY 10504
Agency: North Castle Police Department and Safe Kids
Contact: Detective Patsy Debenedictis at (914) 273-9500
June 18 — Child Safety Seat Check - Ulster County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Ulster Savings Bank, 1571 Ulster Avenue, Lake Katrine, NY 12449
Agency: Ulster Police Department
Contact: Bonnie Simmons at (845) 382-1111
Long Island:
June 16 — Child Safety Seat Check - Suffolk County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Farmingville Fire Department, 780 Horse Block Road, Farmingville, NY 11738
Agency: EAC NETWORK & Suffolk County PD
Contact: Angela Brockmann at (631) 648-7100 ext. 219
June 18 — Child Safety Seat Check - Suffolk County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Babylon Public Library, 24 South Carl Avenue, Babylon, NY 11702
Agency: EAC NETWORK
Contact: Angela Brockmann at (631) 648-7100 ext. 219
June 22 — Child Safety Seat Check - Suffolk County
Rain date June 24
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Suffolk County Traffic Parking Violations Agency
H. Lee Dennison Building, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY 11788
Agency: EAC NETWORK
Contact: Angela Brockmann at (631) 648-7100 ext. 219
Mohawk Valley:
June 13 — Child Safety Seat Check - Montgomery County
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
New York State Police – SP Fonda, 3003 State Highway 5S, Fultonville, NY 12072
Agency: New York State Police
By Appointment Only
Contact: Trooper Donald Fougere at (518) 783-3257
New York City:
June 18 — Child Safety Seat Check - New York County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
NYC DOT (Safety City), 672 West 158th Street, New York, NY 10032
Agency: New York City DOT
Contact: Marjorie Marciano at (212) 839-4750
North Country:
June 18 — Child Safety Seat Check - Clinton County
10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
AAA Northway, 20 Booth Drive, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Agency: Clinton County Sheriff's Office
Contact: William Bush at (518) 565-4397
June 25 — Child Safety Seat Check - Jefferson County
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, 753 Waterman Drive, Watertown, NY 13601
Agency: Carthage Area Hospital
Contact: Julia Ielfield at (315) 286-5959
Southern Tier:
June 29 — Child Safety Seat Check - Delaware County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Delaware Opportunities, 35430 State Highway 10, Hamden, NY 13782
Agency: Delaware County Public Health
Contact: Heather Warner at (607) 832-5200
Western NY:
June 11 — Child Safety Seat Check - Niagara County
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Mount St. Mary's Hospital, 5300 Military Road, Lewiston, NY 14092
Agency: Traffic Safety Office – Niagara County Sheriff's Office
Contact: Grace E. Destino at (716) 438-3190
Parents and caregivers can also get proactive about checking their child's safety seat at home. NHTSA produced a series of videos, which are available on its website, that instruct parents and caregivers how to install rear-facing car seats, forward-facing car seats, and booster seats. Additionally, Safe Kids and NHTSA recommend the following Safe Kids checklist:
- Right Seat: Check the label on the car seat to make sure it's appropriate for a child's age, weight, and height.
- Right Place: Keep all children in the back seat until they are 13 years old. Doing this, along with correctly using the appropriate child restraints, greatly reduces the risk of injury.
- Right Direction: Keep the child in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible. When he or she outgrows the seat, move the child to a forward-facing car seat, and attach the top tether after tightening and locking the seat belt or lower anchors.
- Inch Test: Once the car seat is installed, shake it at the base. A properly installed seat will not move more than an inch.
- Pinch Test: Make sure the harness is tightly buckled and coming from the correct slots (check the manual). Now, with the chest clip placed at armpit level, pinch the strap at the child's shoulder. If unable to pinch any excess webbing, the harness is properly adjusted and the child is secure in the restraint.
To make an appointment with a child seat inspection site near you, click here. Find more information on upcoming child safety seat checks near you here. Click here for ratings on all car seats.