Cornell Cooperative Extension of Livingston County is resuming traffic safety programming after COVID-19 forced the cancellation of several events throughout the spring and summer.
Up next is a free car seat check, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 26 at Noyes Memorial Hospital, 111 Clara Barton St., Dansville. The check is open to anyone who transports children. To help ensure the safety of volunteers and participants, face masks will be required for everyone older than 2 years old. Social distancing protocols will also be in place.
The Car Seat Check will take place on National Seat Check Saturday – which is the culminating event for Child Passenger Safety Week. Correctly used car seats can reduce the risk of death in a car accident by as much as 71%, yet more than half are not used or installed correctly, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Car Seat Checks give families an opportunity to have their child’s car seat inspected, and to receive guidance from certified technicians on how and where to install the seat to maximize their child’s safety. The child needs to be present in order for technicians to evaluate the car seat.
State law requires all children to be restrained in an appropriate Child Restraint System while riding in a motor vehicle, until they reach their 8th birthday.
All children under the age of 2 must ride in a rear-facing car seat. If a child outgrows the weight or height limit of the seat, then a convertible or all-in-one car seat should be used in the rear-facing position until the child outgrows the weight or height limit set by the car seat manufacturer.
Keep children in a forward-facing car seat with a harness as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the car seat manufacturer. Use a belt positioning booster seat when the child’s weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for the car seat. Keep a child in a booster seat until the lap and shoulder belts fit properly, typically between 8 and 12 years old.
Children under age 16 must wear a properly fitted lap and shoulder belt.
Effective Nov. 1, , all motor vehicle passengers 16 and older must be restrained by a seat belt.
For information about child passenger safety and free community educational programs go to www.ccelivingstoncounty.org.