Peru police remind parents to have their child seats checked

Peru police remind motorists to have their child seats checked to ensure proper installation.

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians offered free car seat safety checks and education to parents and caregivers Sept. 17 at Hy-Vee. Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration partners with local communities to host Child Passenger Safety Week, help determine if children are in the right seats for their ages and sizes and explain the importance of registering car seats with the manufacturers so residents can be notified if there is a recall.

“Most parents think their kids are in the right seats and that the seats are installed the right way,” said Chief Robert Pyszka, “but the reality is that nearly half of car seats are installed incorrectly, leaving kids vulnerable to injury in a crash.

“Sadly, two children under 13 were killed every day in 2020 while riding in vehicles, and another 278 were injured. Don’t wait for a crash to happen to find out if your child’s seat is installed correctly. At that point, it’s too late to check.”

Peru police technicians helped multiple parents by reinstalling their car seats correctly. One parent did not know the car seat was expired, which the parent was given a new car seat at no charge, Pyszka said.

If you missed the car seat event, you can still have your car seat checked by a car seat technician at the Peru Police Department.

“Let an expert check for you so you can have that peace of mind,” Pyszka said.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children, and the latest research from NHTSA shows 46% of car seats are misused. Pyszka added using age- and size-appropriate car seats and installing them correctly are the best ways to reduce crash fatalities among children.

“More than a third of children 12 and younger who died in crashes in 2020 in cars, pickups, vans, and SUVs were unbuckled. Never let your children ride unbuckled — the consequences could be devastating.”

From 2016 to 2020, there were 1,721 “tweens” (8 to 14 years old) killed in passenger vehicles, and in 2020 alone, the 8- to 12-year-old age group had the highest number of fatalities (216) among children in passenger vehicles.