Full Notification

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has designated September 14th through September 20th as the National Child Passenger Safety Week.  The Los Angeles Police Department along with our City leaders, law enforcement partners from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles School Police Department are joining this very important child safety awareness campaign. 

It is the law for children under 8-years-old, and who weigh less than 80 lbs., to be secured in a proper child safety restraint when traveling in a motor vehicle.  It is important to secure children, not only because it is the law, but also because a collision cannot be predicted.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children 1 to 13 years old.  Many injuries and deaths can be prevented by the proper use of car seats, boosters and seatbelts.  Car seat use reduces the risk for death to infants under one year old by 71%; and to toddler’s ages 1 to 4 by 54% while riding in passenger vehicles.

Is your child secured in a car seat?  And if so, is your child secured in the right car seat?  We have police officers who are technicians trained in partnership with the NHTSA and Safe Kids Worldwide, who instruct parents and caregivers in the proper way to install child safety restraints.

Securing a child in his or her seat at times could be quite a chore.  But if the child is not properly secured in the vehicle it could mean the difference between life and death in a collision.  It is also important to know that drivers could be cited for not securing children, or any passenger, when traveling in an automobile.  A child seat should be properly secured inside the vehicle and the child properly secured in the correct child seat when the vehicle is in motion.

When purchasing a child seat for your vehicle, ensure that you choose the correct seat rear or forward facing.  Make sure that the seat fits the car, that the car seat fits the child, and choose a car seat that you can install correctly.  For the best protection, keep your baby in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible; we recommend until the child is 2 years of age, or when the child has outgrown the car seat. 

Check the label.  Look at the label on your car seat to make sure it’s appropriate for your child’s age, weight and height. 

Know your car seat’s history.  Only buy a used car seat if you know its full crash history.  That means you must buy it from someone you know, not from a thrift store, garage sale or over the Internet.  Once a car seat has been in a car crash, it needs to be replaced.

In America, it is estimated that approximately 73% of all child safety restraints are not used or installed correctly. If you reside in the San Fernando Valley, and if you need to make an appointment to properly install your child’s car seat, please call (818) 644-8143.  For more information visit us on Facebook, www.lapdonline.org or www.nhtsa.gov to locate a technician near you.