In an effort to help keep children safe, this week is designated as National Child Passenger Safety Week. 

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, three out of four safety seats are improperly installed. In 2015, four children were killed and 61 suffered injuries as occupants in motor vehicle crashes in Missouri. Thirteen percent of these children killed or injured were not restrained in a car seat or safety belt.

State law requires all children under eight to be in an appropriate child safety or booster seat until they are at least 80 pounds or at least 4’9″ tall.

Traffic Safety Coordinator for the St. Joseph Safety Council Sue Lober said Child Passenger Safety Week aims to educate parents, grandparents, caregivers or anyone that has a car seat in their car. 

“We want them to know how to use it properly, how to install it properly,” Lober said. “We give that week a little bit more focus. We have two car seat events scheduled that week so if anyone wants to have their car seat checked to see if it is in correctly, they have two opportunities.” 

The two car seat check opportunities in St. Joseph will be on Thursday and Saturday. A check from noon until 2 p.m. on Thursday will be at Habitat for Humanity, 3131 Frederick in the front parking lot. From 10 a.m. until noon on Saturday, free checks will be offered at Lowe’s Home Improvement Center. 

“You’ll have a certified child passenger safety technician look at your carseat and see, number one, is it in properly, number two, is it expired, because they do expire, some people don’t realize that,” Lober said. “We’ll look to see if there’s any recalls against that seat and then make sure it’s the proper seat for your child, so height and weight of the child will be taken into consideration.” 

The car seat safety events are being sponsored by the Every Mile Matter Traffic Safety Coalition, a collaboration of local law enforcement, state and non-profit agencies, local businesses and individuals who have joined forces to address traffic safety issues in an effort to reduce the numbers of crashes and traffic related injuries and deaths in Buchanan County. 

To find a certified technician in the area, click here. 

For more information, contact Sue Lober at the Safety Council at (816) 233-3330 or go to savemolives.com.