Police offer child car seat inspections

Hamburg — Car seat inspections will be conducted at the Building Blocks of Learning, located at 106 Quarry Road, under the auspices of the Hamburg Police Department on Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The effort by Hamburg’s police is part of its involvement in the Safe Kids Northern NJ program, and nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will perform inspections and train parents and caregivers to install and adjust their car seats properly. “Think of it as a private lesson in the correct use of your car seat,” says KJ Feury, coordinator for Safe Kids Northern NJ. “Under New Jersey law, all children under 8 years and 80 pounds must be restrained in an appropriate car seat — whether in the family car, traveling with friends or relatives or in a rental car or taxi,” says Feury. Properly used, a car seat reduces the risk of death by 71 percent for rear-facing infants and 54 percent for forward-facing toddlers; a booster seat reduces the risk of death by 59 percent for children ages 4 to 8, the group reports. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 73 percent of all child passenger restraints — more than 80 percent of car seats and about 40 percent of booster seats — are used incorrectly. “It’s a parent’s responsibility to make sure a child’s car seat is properly installed and adjusted. We’re here to show you how,” says Feury.