Free car seat inspections available at Extension office

Car seats are made with children’s safety in mind, but more than 46% are installed or used incorrectly, reducing their effectiveness at protecting the child, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Danae Hicks, the Family and Community Health agent in Ellis County, recently earned her National Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification and will be offering free car seat inspections, by appointment only, at the Extension office located at 701 S. Interstate 35E.

“Car seats are set up, when used properly, to be the best protection for those kiddos,” Hicks said. “When you start getting misuse … you really start limiting the protection that (the) car seat can give those kids.”

In 2020, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that an estimated 380 children were injured and three children killed every day in traffic accidents.

Correctly installed car seats reduce the risk of injuries for children by 71-82% compared to seat belt use alone, according to the CDC.

Hicks said some of the most common misuses on car seats are adding items like toys or extra protectors to the harness, turning a rear-facing car seat to front-facing too early, and not paying attention to when the child maxes out the weight on the latch system.

At each car seat inspection, which takes about 30-45 minutes per child, Hicks will look over the car seat and point out any areas that have been done incorrectly. She will then coach the guardian or parent on how to install the car seat correctly.

“If I can take a parent for 30 minutes, get them confident in installing their seat correctly every single time, we’re gonna empower that person, and hopefully eventually the entire community, that these car seats are the best way to set them up for success when they’re in a car,” Hicks said. “I just want to empower these moms, caregivers, dads, whoever, because them taking the step to reach out and give those kids that extra layer of protection is so great. I want to help them get those kids as safe as possible.”

In early March of this year, Hicks received her certification after completing three days of 30 hours of training.

The first day of training, Hicks learned about the different types of clips and retractors seat belts use to help her understand the safest way to install car seats. The next day, she learned about the different types of car seats, practiced installing them inside different types of cars and practiced administering fit checks on dolls.

“They would set up scenarios for us, and we would have to go in and figure out what was wrong,” Hicks said.

The last day Hicks passed her final test: installing seats in eight different cars and finding the appropriate seat for four different dolls.

With Hicks now a certified child passenger safety technician, the Extension office will expand on that inspection service and also become a car seat fitting station at the end of May. As a fitting station, the Extension will have a limited supply of car seats on hand that it can give parents or caregivers who have a need for one.

“Parents that are looking at getting a secondhand seat because they don’t have the means to get a new one, or if they get in a wreck, they’ll be able to come here, and I’ll be able to give them a seat for free,” Hicks said.

Parents or guardians will be able to make an appointment, arrive at the office, get their child fitted by Hicks for a car seat or booster seat and learn how to properly install the seat in their car.

Hicks said they are still waiting on the car seats and booster seats to be delivered to the office, so parents should keep an eye out for an official announcement for the opening of the fitting station.

To set up an appointment for a car seat inspection, call the Extension office at 972-825-5175 or email Hicks at danae.hicks@ag.tamu.edu.

To view the 2020 statistics from NHTSA, visit https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813285. To view the statistics from CDC, visit https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/child_passenger_safety/cps-factsheet.html.

Originally published April 5, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/free-car-seat-inspections-available-at-extension-office/article_106589dc-d3fc-11ed-ba66-d77e66390407.html