Child Car Seat Safety

Air Date: 4/7/2003

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Nothing is more important than your baby. But your child safety seat comes close. Make sure that yours is installed properly and adjusted for your child with a free inspection from REMSA, the SAFE KIDS Washoe County Coalition, the Office of Traffic Safety, and community volunteers.

• According to the National SAFE KIDS campaign, 99% of all children eight years and under are improperly restrained and locally in Washoe County, 98% of children are improperly restrained.
• According to SAFE KIDS, Children ages 2 to 5 who are restrained in adult safety belts are three and a half times more likely to suffer a serious injury and more than four times more likely to suffer a serious head injury, than children of the same ages who are restrained in child safety seats.
• Since 1998, REMSA has inspected 6,803 car seats and found only 221 to be correctly installed.

Don't trust your child's life with anything less than the best protection.

Attend REMSA's Point of Impact child safety seat inspection.

Just drive up to the inspection station. Make sure to bring your child and the safety seat you are currently using. We'll check your installation, check for obvious defects and determine whether your safety seat appears on a national recall list.

Because safe kids are no accident.

To find out more about REMSA's Point of Impact Child Safety Seat Program, click here.

• REMSA has upgraded their equipment to meet national standards and has improved pediatric trauma care in pre-hospital settings due to the newly installed child car seats in 25 ambulance units. With the new car seats on pedestals, children will ride more safely during an emergency transport.
• A grant totaling $15,000 was donated by the Kiwanis Club of Reno to retrofit 25 existing ambulances with child safety seats and each seat comes with its own pedestal.

Kids Car Seat Hotline

If you see a vehicle driving down the road with unrestrained children, call the Hotline at (775)335-1900 with the license plate number, make and color of the car, and what you saw. Reported vehicles owners will be mailed an informational packet that includes a friendly reminder letter, tips on car seat use and information for car seat check points and where car seats can be obtained.

NRS 484.474 requires that any child under the age of 5 and less than 40 pounds be buckled up in an approved child safety seat.

(Proposed legislation will change this to age 8 and 80 pounds.)

The Kids Car Seat Hotline is an educational program that is devoted to raising awareness about child passenger safety in the Truckee Meadows.

Additional Resources

American Academy of Pediatrics

Children's Safety Network

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Automotive Safety For Children Program

CSN Economics and Insurance Resource Center

National Association for the Education of Young Children

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

National Safety Belt Coalition

SafetyBeltSafe USA

National Safe Kids

450 Edison Way Reno, Nevada 89502 (775)858-5700 Fax (775)858-5720