With a new school year underway, you can expect more traffic on the roadways. The Colorado Department of Transportation is using the opportunity to remind parents about a no-cost way to keep their student passengers safe.
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The state offers free inspections to help make sure car seats are adequately installed and adjusted. CDOT says 73% of seats inspected in Colorado last year were installed or being used incorrectly.
State Trooper Kent Trimbach is Program Coordinator for Car Seats Colorado. He told KUNC there’s more to using a booster seat than just strapping your kid in.
“Child restraints must be adjusted and installed according to the car seat and the vehicle manufacturer's instructions,” he said. “So there's a lot of nuances to both of those.”
Before parents even buy a seat, Trimbach says they need to make sure it meets federal standards. The standard label language will say the restraint system conforms to all applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards, in accordance with FMVSS 213.
“Even if you are buying from a box store, sometimes they have a secondary distributor, and it might not come from the proper place,” he explained. “So you want to make sure that it has that written on the side of that car seat.”
Colorado updated its child passenger safety laws last year. You can get a ticket for not using car seats and appropriate restraints for young riders.
“We at Car Seats Colorado teach the best practice, which means if you follow the instructions on that car seat and don't move them to the next stage until they've maxed out that car seat, then you're going to be safe in every single state and not have to worry about the law,” he added.
Trimbach said parents sometimes move on to regular seat belts too early. If you think your kid is ready to be out of a booster, check how a seat belt fits. The lap belt should cross the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should fall across the chest and between the neck and shoulder. Ideally, your child should be able to put their feet flat on the floorboard while buckled up.
Nonprofit SafeKids Colorado offers inspections by appointment at multiple locations.
You can find out more about Colorado’s child passenger safety laws here and here.
