FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Contacts:
Lisa Koumjian
[email protected] [1]
NEW YORK STATE DMV AND THE GOVERNOR’S TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE ANNOUNCE FREE CHILD CAR SEAT INSPECTIONS AND ASSISTANCE DURING SEPTEMBER
Free Inspections Offered in Albany, Chenango, Cortland, Erie, Fulton, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Orange, Oswego, Rensselaer, Suffolk, Sullivan and Westchester Counties
September 23–29 is National Child Passenger Safety Week, concluding with National Seat Check Saturday on September 29
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) [2] and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) [3] today announced that free child car seat inspections are available to parents and caregivers during the month of September in Albany, Chenango, Cortland, Erie, Fulton, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Orange, Oswego, Rensselaer, Suffolk, Sullivan and Westchester counties. As part of a year-long safety initiative, state and local law enforcement agencies, along with various community safety partners, are offering free child car seat inspections by certified child passenger safety technicians.
September 23-29 is Child Passenger Safety Week, a national campaign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [4] (NHTSA). The week concludes with National Seat Check Saturday on September 29. For more information about Child Passenger Safety Week and other national traffic safety campaigns, visit the NHTSA website [5].
“When properly installed and used effectively, child safety seats can significantly reduce the risk of death or injury in a crash,” said DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner and Acting GTSC Chair Terri Egan. “I encourage New Yorkers to take advantage of these free car seat inspections to make sure young children are adequately protected when traveling in a motor vehicle.”
This campaign aims to ensure all parents and caregivers are properly trained to secure their children in a car safety restraint system (which can be rear-facing, forward-facing, booster seats, or seat belts) appropriate for the child’s age and size, and to ensure the safety restraints are properly installed.
Trained technicians will use the model of “Learn, Practice, and Explain” to educate each caregiver on how to select a child restraint that will fit their child, fit their vehicle and be used correctly every time. Getting safety information and car seat instructions to parents and caregivers is crucial to saving young lives.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, child safety seats reduce the risk [6] of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars. In 2012, a survey [7] by the NHTSA found that 20 percent of all drivers of child passengers did not read any instructions on how to properly install their child restraints, yet 90 percent felt “confident” or “very confident” that their car seats and booster seats were installed correctly.
The following child safety seat checks are scheduled across the state in September:
CAPITAL REGION
September 15 Child Safety Seat Check - Rensselaer County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Castleton Volunteer Ambulance, 1700 Brookview Road, Castleton, NY 12033
Agency: New York State Police / Rensselaer County Law Enforcement Association
Contact: Trooper Donald Fougere at (518) 783-3258 or Eric Dahl at (518) 266-1970
September 29 Child Safety Seat Check - Albany County
11:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Crossgates Overflow Parking Lot near Washington Avenue Extension, 1 Crossgates Mall Road, Guilderland, NY 12203
Agency: Albany County DPW Traffic Safety Education / Capital Region Safe Kids
Contact: Bill Van Alstyne at (518) 765-2565
CENTRAL NEW YORK
September 5 Child Safety Seat Check - Cortland County
9:00 a.m - 11:30 a.m.
Marathon WIC Clinic, Marathon Presbyterian Church, Main Street, Marathon, NY 13803
Agency: Cortland County Health Department
Appointment Required
Contact: ReBecca Smith at (607) 758-5509
September 12 Child Safety Seat Check - Cortland County
9:00 a.m - 11:30 a.m.
Cincinnatus WIC Clinic, Cortland-Chenango Rural Services, Lower Cincinnatus Road, Cincinnatus, NY 13040
Agency: Cortland County Health Department
Appointment Required
Contact: ReBecca Smith at (607) 758-5509
September 15 Child Safety Seat Check - Oswego County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Oswego Lowe's, 445 NY 104, Oswego, NY 13126
Agency: Oswego County Traffic Safety Board
Contact: Jessica McGiff at (315) 343-2344 ext. 22
September 29 Child Safety Seat Check - Oswego County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Oswego City Fire Department, 35 East Cayuga Street, Oswego, NY 13126
Agency: Oswego County Traffic Safety Board
Contact: Jessica McGiff at (315) 343-2344 ext. 22
FINGER LAKES
September 29 Child Safety Seat Check - Monroe County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Delta Sonic Car Wash - Greece, 990 West Ridge Road, Rochester, NY 14615
Agency: Monroe County Office of Traffic Safety
Contact: Jean Triest at (585) 753-3018
LONG ISLAND
September 29 Child Safety Seat Check - Suffolk County
8:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m.
Safety Town, 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, NY 11742
Agency: Brookhaven Highway Department
Contact: Jon Sullivan at (631) 363-3770
MID-HUDSON
September 8 Child Safety Seat Check - Orange County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 a.m.
Town of Chester Police Headquarters, 79 Laroe Road, Chester, NY 10918
Agency: Town of Chester Police
Contact: Simone Klopf at (845) 469-7000, ext. 1
September 28 Child Safety Seat Check - Sullivan County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Loch Sheldrake Fire Department, NY 52, Loch Sheldrake, NY 12759
Agency: Sullivan County Public Health Services
Contact: Wendy Salonich at (845) 292-5910 ext 2220
September 29 Child Safety Seat Check - Westchester County
10:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.
Rye Brook Fire Department, 940 King Street, Rye Brook, NY 10573
Agency: Rye Brook Police Department
Contact: Sgt. Luigi Greco at (914) 937-1020
MOHAWK VALLEY
September 13 Child Safety Seat Check - Fulton County
10:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m.
Perth Fire Department, 4080 NY 30, Amsterdam, NY 12010
Agency: Fulton County Public Health
Contact: Alyssa Craig at (518) 736-5719
September 26 Child Safety Seat Check - Oneida County
3:30 p.m - 5:30 p.m.
Boonville Police Station, 13149 State Route 12, Boonville, NY 13309
Agency: Village of Boonville Police Department
Contact: Jennifer Tabolt at (315) 943-2052 ext 1204
SOUTHERN TIER
September 15 Child Safety Seat Check - Chenango County
4:00 p.m - 6:00 p.m.
Evolve Fitness, 6142 State Hwy 12, Norwich, NY 13815
Agency: Chenango County Sheriff's Office
Contact: Sheri Howe at (607) 337-1400
WESTERN NEW YORK
September 8 Child Safety Seat Check - Niagara County
9:30 a.m - 11:30 a.m.
Mt. St. Mary's Hospital, 5300 Military Road, Lewiston, NY 14092
Agency: Catholic Health of Buffalo
Appointment Required
Contact: Health Connections at (716) 706-2112
September 8 Child Safety Seat Check - Erie County
2:30 p.m - 5:30 p.m.
Catholic Health Administration and Training Center, 144 Genesee Street, Buffalo, NY 14203
Agency: Catholic Health of Buffalo
Appointment Required
Contact: Health Connections at (716) 706-2112
September 12 Child Safety Seat Check - Niagara County
4:00 p.m - 7:00 p.m.
Niagara County Public Safety Training Facility, 5574 Niagara Street Extension, Lockport, NY 14095
Agency: Niagara County Sheriff's Office of Traffic Safety
Appointment Required
Contact: Cathleen Davis at (716) 438-3464
If you cannot attend one of the listed free child car seat inspections, you can make a free appointment with a child seat inspection site near you [8]. The above schedule may be subject to changes. Find more information on upcoming child safety seat checks near you [9]. See ratings on all car seats [10].
In addition to car seat inspections, parents and caregivers can view a series of videos [11] produced by NHSTA. The videos, which are also available on NHTSA’s website, instruct parents and caregivers how to install rear-facing car seats, forward-facing car seats, and booster seats.
For more information about DMV, visit dmv.ny.gov [2], or follow the DMV conversation online at Facebook [12] and Twitter [13].
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