Maine Bureau of Highway Safety to Hold Child Safety Seat Checks

If you have any doubts about how to correctly install a child safety seat in your vehicle, there are several ways to get your questions answered.

What's So Tough About Installing Car Seats?

I'll be the first to admit that those seats are complicated.

Install strap A into Buckle B before threading it through attachment C. But...I don't have an attachment C. Where is attachment C?!

I've had this conversation with myself more than once as I tried to install the latest child safety seat in my vehicle. And then there's the other question...when does your child size up into a larger seat? It's confusing. And frustrating. So how do you get answers to these questions?

Can I Get Someone to Look at My Seat to Make Sure It's Right?

This week, you can visit one of several child safety seat checks being held around the state by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety.

• September 20th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Maliseet Community Center, 564 Foxcroft Road in Houlton
• September 21st from 1 to 2:30 p.m., there will be a virtual car seat safety class via Zoom. Contact Brittney Dunphy at bwatt@rfgh.net for more information
• September 21st from 2 to 6 p.m., at United Ambulance, 215 Rodman Road in Auburn.

But, what if there isn't a safety check near you? Contact your nearest car safety check agency to take a look. The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety has about 34 partner locations around the state where people can make an appointment to have their child safety seats reviewed. A Certified Car Seat Technician can help educate you on how to install the seat and answer your questions about when it's time to upgrade.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also has some valuable tools for determining your child's car safety seat requirements. You can fill in your child's statistics (age, height, and weight) and the website will tell you which seat your child should be sitting in.

Are There a Lot of Safety Seat-Related Deaths in Maine?

The good news in Maine is that our state fell below the national average for fatalities involving children under the age of 13 in 2021. But Maine's Highway Safety Director Lauren Stewart that's not good enough.

One fatality or injury is still one too many. Each loss of life on Maine's roads is preventable.

She invites people to find a list of inspection sites in their community on the MBHS website.