Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield is reminding residents that free checks of child safety seat installations are offered by the Sheriff’s Department every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the County Administration Building, 49 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly.
“With Child Passenger Safety Week coming up next month, it is important for our residents to know that these services are available to them year round,” said Sheriff Stanfield. “Our Child Passenger Safety Seat Program conducts hands-on training for parents and caregivers to ensure that their children’s safety seats are properly installed.
“We are very pleased that we are able to offer this additional service to busy parents,” Sheriff Jean Stanfield continued. “The Sheriff’s Department Child Safety Seat Team consists of State Certified Technicians who also check all child seats for safety concerns and recalls.”
The Burlington County Child Passenger Safety Program has inspected over 13,000 child safety seats since its start sixteen years ago. During in the last year only 8 percent of the seats checked were installed correctly. This 92 percent misuse rate for Burlington County is higher than the national average of 73 percent reported by Safe Kids USA.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, research on the effectiveness of child safety seats shows their use can reduce fatalities for children under one-year-old by 71 percent and for toddlers (ages 1–4) by 54 percent. If used properly a child safety restraint can reduce the need for hospitalization among children 4 years of age and under by 69 percent.
