Are your kids safe on the road? Redlands Police urge parents to double-check car seats during Child Passenger Safety Week

REDLANDS, Calif. – Child Passenger Safety Week is this month and Redlands Police Department is urging parents and caregivers to double-check that their children are using the correct car seats and booster seats.

Why it matters: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly half of car seats are misused. Properly installed car seats can reduce fatal injury crashes by 71% for infants under a year old and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 through 4.

Details: The annual campaign, running from Sept. 15-21, aims to raise awareness about the importance of proper car seat installation and use.

California law requires children under 2 years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat, unless they weigh 40 or more pounds or are 40 or more inches tall.

Children under 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat and are not allowed to ride in the front seat unless the vehicle is not equipped with a rear, forward-facing seat.

Children 8 and older, or who are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall, may be secured by a booster seat and, at minimum, must be wearing a properly fitted safety belt.

Parents are encouraged to keep children in the appropriate seat as long as possible and use the "Five-Step Test" to determine if a child can safely use a seat belt without a booster.

The test includes five questions. If the answer to any of these questions is "no," the child should continue to ride with a booster seat.

1. Is the child sitting tall so his/her whole back is touching the seatback?
2. Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt touching the tops of the legs?
5. Can the child sit like this for the whole trip?

In California, for each child under 16 who is not properly buckled, parents (if in the car) or drivers can be fined more than $500 and get a point on their driving records.

What they're saying: "Every child deserves to travel safely," said Redlands Police Cpl. Martin Gonzalez of the Traffic Safety Unit. "During Child Passenger Safety Week, we urge all parents and caregivers to take a few minutes to double-check their child's car seat."

Moving forward: Free child safety seat inspections are available through local California Highway Patrol Area Offices.

The program is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.