Parents, caregivers urged to get child seats inspected Published Sept. 18, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Thom Moore 21st Space Wing Safety Office PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- It can happen. A typical driving experience can turn deadly. At just 30 miles per hour, you have a front-end collision and your child is killed because you never had your safety seat checked. Need an easy way to make sure it's safe? The 2nd Annual National Seat Check Saturday is 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Sept. 20, at the base exchange. The seat check will ensure your child's safety seat is not one of the more than 50 percent incorrectly installed. Peterson officials are urging parents and caregivers to make sure their child safety seats are properly installed in their vehicles. "It's the responsibility of every single parent and caregiver out there to make sure their children are safely restrained - every trip, every time," said Col. Jay Raymond, 21st Space Wing commander. "We're urging everyone to get their child safety seats inspected. When it comes to the safety of a child, there is no room for mistakes." According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, 8,325 lives of children under age 5 have been saved by the proper use of child restraints during the past 30 years. In 2006, among children under 5, an estimated 425 lives were saved by child restraint use. Research shows that child restraints provide the best protection for all children up to age 8; after age 8, seat belts provide the best protection. For maximum child passenger safety, Colonel Raymond said parents and caregivers should refer to the following 4 Steps for Kids guidelines to determine which restraint system is best suited to protect children based on age and size: 1. For the best possible protection, keep infants in the back seat, in rear-facing child safety seats, as long as possible, up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds. 2. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds) they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds). 3. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds), they should ride in booster seats, in the back seat, until the vehicle seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest (usually at age 8 or when they are 4'9" tall). 4. When children outgrow their booster seats, (usually at age 8 or when they are 4'9" tall) they can use the adult seat belts in the back seat, if they fit properly (lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest). For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week, a national effort to remind parents and caregivers of the lifesaving effect child safety seats have in protecting young children, please visit www.nhtsa.gov. For questions about the child seat check or to schedule a seat check at a different time, call the base's safety office at 556-4392.