Every parent and caregiver wants their kids to be safe in a car, but did you know that 80 percent of car seats are used incorrectly? That's according to Safe Kids Connecticut.
This week, the state Department of Motor Vehicles is physically checking car seats to make sure children stay safe in crashes.
Correct installation is the first key. You have to make sure the car seat won't move more than an inch from side to side.
When putting a child into a car seat, you also want to take off any big, bulky coats and tighten the harness so it fits snugly to the child's body. Experts say you should not be able to pinch those straps together.
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It's also really important that once you buckle that clip, you slide it up into place above the child's chest.
“If it's too high, it'll bother the child during transportation, and if it's too low, the harness straps can fall off the shoulders in the child can be ejected from the seat. So you want to make sure that that retainer clip, that plastic piece, is in the center of the chest, by the armpit, nipple area," said Luis Rivera, Community Relations Manager at Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
Connecticut law requires children under 2 years old and weighing less than 30 pounds to be in a rear-facing car seat.
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Children 2 to 5 years old and weighing 30-40 pounds can be forward-facing in a five-point harness system.
Those 5 to 8-year-olds or kids weighing 40 to 60 pounds can move up to a booster seat.
"Having said that, that's Connecticut law. If you could keep a child rear-facing for longer, is safer. If you could keep a child in a forward-facing seat with a harness for longer, it's safer. And if you keep a child in a booster seat for a little bit longer, that's safer," Rivera said.
The DMV is holding events for car seat checks this week. Those events will be held the following dates:
- Tuesday, Sept. 17 at the Enfield DMV
- Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the Old Saybrook DMV
- Thursday, Sept. 19 at the Willimantic DMV
All of the events run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
