Car seat inspections in Farmington Hills aim to help new families properly secure children
FARMINGTON Hills, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - According to the CDC, 607 child passengers aged 12 and younger were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2020, and 38% of those children were not buckled in properly.
The Farmington Hills Fire Department is looking to change those statistics by helping families with young children or those who are expecting with their car seats. Child car seat inspections take place at the Farmington Hills Fire Department monthly and are free of charge to those who stop in.
Certified technicians check for things like proper installation and potential recalls on their car seats.
"A seat that is either installed improperly, if at all, if they even have one, we see the aftermath of that," says Eric Alonzo, a sergeant and EMS coordinator for the Farmington Hills Fire Department. "We do remind them that car seats should be bought brand new, they're not meant to be hand-me-downs."
Sgt. Alonzo added that families need to know specific state laws for car seats. Those can be found here.
If you're interested in signing up for a child seat inspection, you can contact Sara West at swest@fhgov.com.