The Right Seat

It's National Child Passenger Safety Week. Ensuring that your most precious cargo is riding in a properly fitted and installed car seat is one of your most important responsibilities. So how do we know we are using the right car seat?

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) website to ensure you have the right car seat for your child can easily be found by searching for "The Right Seat."

Another option is to visit a local Car Seat Fitting Station. We have three right here in Missoula. Additionally, several Certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technicians in our area can help you out if you are unable to make it to a fitting station.

Why is this all so important? As a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, I've spent the last two years helping families install their car seats correctly. I often get the opportunity to inspect how they have their car seat installed before starting the whole process. How many do you think I've seen that have been installed 100%, correct? Zero. None have been installed correctly. I've been able to help each family make at least one, but usually several, adjustments to ensure that their seats are correctly installed. Statistically, it's about 4 out of 5 are not installed correctly.

Installing a car seat isn't about guesswork, assumptions, and "well, that looks right, I think, maybe." Your child's safety and their life may, very well, depend on you knowing for sure that their car seat is installed correctly.

Drive Safe Missoula has a lot of resources for you right here on our website. Still, have questions? Feel free to reach out.

Thanks for caring and, as always, Drive Safe Missoula