Safe Kids Clark County News Articles

Written on Monday, September 25th, 2006


Changes at Checkup Events

Beginning with our October 2006 events, SKCC will start limiting vehicles served to 40 at each event. Our volunteers have been overwhelmed by the success of every event and are pleased to help Clark County children ride safely; however, in order to give each parent the individual instruction needed to correctly install car seats, we must limit the number of people we serve.

If you feel you haven't learned how to install and use your car seat while at our checkup event, please ask to be shown again. We want to make sure that all of your questions are answered and that you are comfortable installing your car seat. Thank you for taking the time to make sure your child is riding safely and for supporting Safe Kids Clark County!

Child Safety Seats: Are You Doing It Right?

Properly installed child safety seats save lives and prevent injuries. In Clark County, the misuse rate for safety seat installation and use is over 98%; nationally it's 80%. Here are some safety tips to help make sure you're doing it right.

  • All children ages 12 and under should ride in the back seat.
  • Infants should be in rear-facing child safety seats until at least 20 pounds and at least 1 year old. Never put a rear-facing infant or convertible safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger air bag.
  • Children over 1 year old and between 20 and 40 pounds can be in forward-facing child safety seats, or in rear-facing convertible seats if the child has not reached the maximum rear-facing weight.
  • Nevada law requires children to be in appropriate child restraints until age 6 and 60 pounds. If your child has outgrown the weight and height limits of a harnessed safety seat, a booster seat should be used. Children generally require booster seats until age 8 and 80 pounds and should always use lap and shoulder belts every time they ride. Adult safety belts alone do not adequately protect children this size from injury in a crash.
  • Usually, children over 80 pounds and 8 years old can fit correctly in lap/shoulder belts. When the child is sitting all the way back against the vehicle seat, the lap belt should fit across the child's hips, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should cross the center of the shoulder. Do not let your children put shoulder belts under their arms or behind their backs. This could result in serious injuries.
  • Read your child safety seat instruction manual and vehicle owner's manual carefully for proper installation. The seat should be locked tightly against the vehicle seat--it should not move more than 1 inch forward or side to side.
  • In many vehicles, lower LATCH anchors are not available for safety seat installation use in the center seating position. Use the seat belt instead if your vehicle owner's manual prohibits or doesn't mention LATCH use in the center position.
  • The harness should be snug on the child so that you cannot pinch any slack up and down in the webbing near the shoulders. For rear-facing children, the harness should come from below the shoulders. For forward-facing children, the harness should come from above the shoulders; read the safety seat manual for the proper slots to use.
  • Like other consumer products, child safety seats are occasionally recalled. Send in your child safety seat registration card to be sure you'll be notified or call the manufacturer to register your seat. You can also check the safety seat recall lists on our Recalls page.
  • Replace any child safety seat that has been involved in a crash.