CDOT brings free car seat checks (and ice cream) to Denver parks during Child Passenger Safety Week
News Release
To access the 2024 CPS Week media kit for pictures and videos from this week’s events, email [email protected]
Denver — Despite advancements in vehicle safety, car crashes continue to pose a substantial risk to children, and many caregivers in Colorado are still misusing car seats. As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, the Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol, the City of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) and AAA partnered to bring free car seat checks to the masses to ensure the safety of Colorado’s youngest passengers.
This week, Car Seats Colorado (a collaboration between CDOT and Colorado State Patrol) traveled to local parks across the Denver area, inviting parents and caregivers to have their car seat inspected for free by a certified child passenger safety technician. Technicians have checked 58 car seats so far, ensuring they had been installed correctly and were adjusted to the child properly, among other safety checks.
Car seat checks are planned again tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 21 from 8 to 11 a.m. at Garfield Lake Park, 3600 W. Mississippi Ave. in Denver, CO 80219, and Noon to 3 p.m. at Ruby Hill Park 1200 W. Florida Ave. in Denver, CO 80223.
Earlier this year, Gov. Jared Polis signed a new bill that updates Colorado’s child restraint system law. The updates reflect the latest research and recommendations on child passenger safety, ensuring that the laws keep pace with evolving best practices. Key changes to the law include raising the age for mandatory use of a car seat or booster seat from 8 to 9 years old and increasing the rear-facing car seat requirement to under 2 years old and under 40 pounds. The law also increases the age at which children must be restrained in a seat belt from under 16 years of age to under 18 years of age. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Car Seats Colorado emphasizes that car seats, booster seats and seat belts are developed to protect children based on their size, not their age. Even if your child looks big enough to move to the next size seat, be sure to follow all manufacturer recommendations on the car seat label.
“Last year in Colorado, our technicians found that more than three-quarters of all car seats inspected statewide were in some way putting the child at risk in a crash.” said Trooper Kent Trimbach of the Colorado State Patrol and program coordinator for Car Seats Colorado. “Most people have no idea they’ve installed their child’s car seat wrong or are using it incorrectly. So, rather than relying on parents and caregivers to come to us, we’re going to them.”
During the three Click It or Ticket seat belt safety enforcement periods in 2024, 243 citations were issued to drivers for having an improperly restrained child. Factors contributing to improperly restrained children include:
- An incorrectly installed car seat
- Use of a car seat that does not fit the child based on their size and development
- Not properly securing the harness or seat belt
- Moving a child out of a booster seat too soon
In addition, parents often move their children to the front seat before they should, which increases the risk of injury and death, even if that child is buckled correctly. Children under 13 years of age should always ride in the back seat, when available.
“We offer so many resources to make this as easy as possible for families,” said Darrell Lingk, director of the Highway Safety Office at CDOT, “because these little ones rely entirely on their caregivers for their safety.”
Parents and caregivers can have their car seats checked for free at any time by visiting an inspection station. To locate a car seat inspection location near you, visit CarSeatsColorado.com.
If you can’t afford a car seat for your child(ren), WeeCycle, Children’s Hospital Colorado and SafeKids Colorado Springs have programs through which families can get a free or low-cost car seat. Visit their websites for more information.
Learn more about how to keep children safe in vehicles and download informational resources at CarSeatsColorado.com.
About Car Seats Colorado
Car Seats Colorado is a joint effort of the Colorado State Patrol, CDOT, local car seat technicians, law enforcement, emergency services and other professionals who are dedicated to implementing child passenger safety programs and encouraging parents to take the necessary steps to protect their children when in vehicles. Learn more about how to keep children safe in vehicles and download informational resources at CarSeatsColorado.com.
