The New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety dedicates a web page to child passenger safety.
Motor-vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death of children over the age of six months in the U.S. The proper use of child car seats is one of the simplest and most effective methods available for protecting children, the division states on its website.
Yet three out of every four children in the seats are not properly secured, or even worse, not restrained at all.
The Delran police department will hosting a free, child safety seat checkpoint on Saturday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fire Company No. 2 on South Chester Avenue. Certified technicians will be on hand to ensure a child’s seat is safe for upcoming holiday travel.
There are many different types of child car seats on the market today and there are also several methods for securing them safetly. Seat belt systems, lap belts or lap and shoulder belts are designed to be used for this purpose.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offer recommendations that comply with the New Jersey Child Passenger Restraint Law.
- Any child under the age of 8 and under 57 inches in height needs to be secured as follows in the rear seat of a motor vehicle:
- – A child under the age of 2 and 30 pounds should be secured in a rear-facing seat equipped with a five-point harness.
- – A child under the age of 4 and 40 pounds must be secured until they reach the upper limits of the rear-facing seat, then in a forward-facing child restraint equipped with a five-point harness.
- – A child under the age of 8 and a height of 57 inches should be secured until they reach the upper limits of the rear-facing or forward-facing seat, then in a belt-positioning booster seat.
- – A child who is over 8 years old and 57 inches in height must be properly secured by a seat belt.
At the local level, residents can email the police department at communitypolicing@delranpolice.org to schedule an appointment to secure a child car seat.
