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Albany, NY - September 2, 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 September throughout the state.
An increased number of seat checks are taking place during National Child Passenger Safety Week (September 18 to 24) and National Seat Check Saturday (September 24), giving New Yorkers more opportunities to ensure their children are buckled up correctly. GTSC supports child seat checks in September and year-round as part of the Child Passenger Safety Program, helping state and local police agencies and community safety partners offer free child car seat inspections by certified child passenger safety technicians.
“While we provide help and support all year long, there is no better time than September, when traffic safety agencies emphasize child passenger safety and a new school year begins, to take time and make sure our children are traveling safely,” 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. Children are our most precious cargo, and it is up to each of us to keep them safe on the roads.”
In November 2015, 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.
In November 2015, 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 list of child safety seat checks, broken down by region and county, available across the state from today until the end of September. (Check the GTSC’s website for the possible addition of dates and locations)
Capital Region:
September 7 Child Safety Seat Check - Albany County
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
New York State Police – SP Latham
Troop G Headquarters, 760 Troy-Schenectady Road, Latham, NY 12110
Agency: New York State Police
By Appointment Only
Contact: Trooper Donald Fougere at (518) 783-3258
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Albany County
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Crossgates Mall Overflow Lot Western Ave. Side
1 Crossgates Mall Road, Guilderland, NY 12203
Agency: Albany County DPW Traffic Safety Education Program (Albany
County Traffic Safety Board), Capital Region Safe Kids (Albany Medical
College)
Contact: Bill Van Alstyne at (518) 765-2565
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Columbia County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Kohl's Department Store
488 Fairview Avenue, Hudson, NY 12534
Agency: Columbia County Sheriff's Office
Contact: Deputy Peter Grzeskow at (518) 828-3344
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Saratoga County
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Clifton Park Halfmoon Ambulance
15 Crossing Blvd., Clifton Park, NY 12065
Agency: New York State Police
Contact: Trooper Donald Fougere at (518) 783-3258
Central New York:
September 17 Child Safety Seat Check - Oswego County
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Lowe's, 445 State Route 104, Oswego, NY 13126
Agency: Oswego County Traffic Safety Board
Contact: Billie Crandall Brady at (315) 343-2344 ext. 22
September 23 Child Safety Seat Check - Madison County
4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
(Rain date: September 30)
Wal-Mart parking lot
1294 Upper Lenox Avenue, Oneida, NY 13421
Agency: Madison County Health Department
Contact: Chrystal Johnson at (315) 366-2361
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Onondaga County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Babies R Us, 2027 Park Street, Syracuse, NY 13208
Agency: Onondaga County Sheriff's Office
Contact: Deputy Kathleen Kruger at (315) 430-6030
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Seneca County
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Seneca Falls Fire Department
43 West Bayard Street, Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Agency: Seneca Falls Police Department
Contact: Sgt. Angela Anderson at (315) 568-4850
Finger Lakes:
September 17 Child Safety Seat Check - Wyoming County
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Arcade Fire Department, 145 North Street, Arcade, NY 14009
Agency: Arcade Police
Contact: Chief Anthony Biscaro at (585) 492-2300 ext. 108
September 17 Child Safety Seat Check - Monroe County
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Fuccillo Hyundai, 3975 West Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14626
Agency: Greece Safe Kids
Contact: Pete Sidari at (585) 581-5430
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Genesee County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
City of Batavia Fire Headquarters, 18 Evans Street, Batavia, NY 14020
Agency: City of Batavia
Contact: Robert Tedford at (585) 345-6300 ext. 5356
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Livingston County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
KidStart, 5871 Groveland Station Road, Mount Morris, NY 14510
Agency: Cornell Cooperative Extension of Livingston County – Traffic
Safety Education Program
Contact: Katelyn Sanders at (585) 991-5420
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Monroe County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Henrietta Delta Sonic (enter from Brighton Henrietta Townline Road)
2790 West Henrietta Road, Rochester, NY 14623
Agency: Monroe County Office of Traffic Safety
Contact: Jean Triest at (585) 753-3018
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Wayne County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Newark Fire Department, East Miller Street, Newark, NY 14513
Agency: Wayne County Public Health & Wayne County Sheriff's Office
Contact: Lisa O'Dell at (315) 946-5749
Hudson Valley:
September 16 Child Safety Seat Check - Sullivan County
September 16 Child Safety Seat Check - Sullivan County
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Loch Sheldrake Fire House, Route 52, Lock Sheldrake, NY 12759
Agency: Sullivan County Public Health
Contact: Wendy Salonich at (845) 513-2220
September 17 Child Safety Seat Check - Orange County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Chester Ambulance Building, 79 Laroe Road, Chester, NY 10918
Agency: Town of Chester Police
Contact: Simone Klopf at (845) 469-7000, ext. 1
September 21 Child Safety Seat Check - Westchester County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Harrison Police Department, 650 North Street, Harrison, NY 10528
Agency: Harrison Police Department
Contact: Kevin Kraus at (914) 967-5111
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Rockland County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Palisades Volvo Mazda, 55 Route 303, West Nyack, NY 10994
Agency: Village of Rye Brook Police Department
Contact: Sgt. Al Brunner at (845) 638-5467
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Westchester County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Village of Rye Brook, 938 King Street, Rye Brook, NY 10573
Agency: Village of Rye Brook Police Department
Contact: Sgt. Luigi Greco at (914) 937-1020
Long Island:
September 18 Child Safety Seat Check - Suffolk County
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Riverhead Correctional Facility
100 Center Drive (County Road 24, Exit 71 of the LIE)
Riverhead, NY 11901
Agency: Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
Contact: Deputy Sheriff Allison Zacchino at (631) 852-3273
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Suffolk County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
(Rain date: September 25)
Safety Town, 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, NY 11742
Agency: Town of Brookhaven Highway Department
Contact: John Sullivan, Traffic Safety Director at (631) 363-3770
Mohawk Valley:
September 19 Child Safety Seat Check - Otsego County
3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sissy's Little Lambs Children's Center, 383 County Road 11
Oneonta, NY 13820
Agency: Delaware County Public Health
Contact: Heather Warner at (607) 832-5200
New York City:
September 17 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:
September 21 Child Safety Seat Check - St. Lawrence County
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Massena Fire Department, 34 Andrews Street, Massena, NY 13662
Agency: St. Lawrence County Traffic Safety Program
Contact: Mary Davison at (315) 379-2306
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Clinton County
10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Saranac Volunteer Fire Department, 3277 Route 3, Saranac, NY 12981
Agency: Clinton County Sheriff's Office and Safe Kids Adirondack
Contact: William Bush at (518) 565-4397
Southern Tier:
September 10 Child Safety Seat Check - Delaware County
September 10 Child Safety Seat Check - Delaware County
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Sidney McDonald's, 141 Delaware Avenue, Sidney, NY 13838
Agency: Delaware County Public Health
Contact: Heather Warner at (607) 832-5200
September 20 Child Safety Seat Check - Tioga County
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
(Rain date: September 21)
Treadway Inn parking lot, 1100 State Route 17C, Owego, NY 13827
Agency: Tioga County Public Health
Contact: Heather Morgan at (607) 687-8637
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Broome County
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
MacArthur Elementary School Parking Lot
1123 Vestal Avenue, Binghamton, NY 13903
Agency: Broome County Health Department
Contact: Christine Muss at (607) 778-2807
Western NY:
September 3 Child Safety Seat Check - Erie County
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Administrative & Regional Training Center
Parking Garage and Classroom A
144 Genesee Street, Buffalo, NY 14203
Agency: Catholic Health of Buffalo – WomanCare
Registration Required
Contact for Registration: (716) 447-6205
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Allegany County
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Immaculate Conception Parking Lot
17 Maple Avenue, Wellsville, NY 14895
Agency: Ardent Solutions
Contact: Denise Hoyt at (585) 593-5223 ext. 14
September 24 Child Safety Seat Check - Erie County
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Cheektowaga Police Department
3223 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY 14227
Agency: Cheektowaga Police Department
Contact: Paul Nazzarett at (716) 686-7451
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. 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.
Parents and caregivers should also check to make sure their child’s safety seat is installed properly before each ride and that their children properly buckled up for every ride. To assist in this process, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has developed child passenger safety tip cards to help keep children safe in motor vehicles: “4 Steps 4 Kids,” which provides information about the right type of restraint for a child’s age and size, and “Under 13? Backseat and Buckle Up!” aimed at keeping kids ages 8 to 12 safe in cars. Additionally, NHTSA provides a series of videos that instruct parents and caregivers how to install child safety seats.
Parents and caregivers should also check to make sure their child’s safety seat is installed properly before each ride and that their children properly buckled up for every ride. To assist in this process, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has developed child passenger safety tip cards to help keep children safe in motor vehicles: “4 Steps 4 Kids,” which provides information about the right type of restraint for a child’s age and size, and “Under 13? Backseat and Buckle Up!” aimed at keeping kids ages 8 to 12 safe in cars. Additionally, NHTSA provides a series of videos that instruct parents and caregivers how to install child safety seats.
The GTSC’s website allows visitors to find where to make appointments with child seat inspectors nearby and find more information on upcoming child safety seat checks. More information about car seat ratings can be found on the NHTSA website.