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Sept. 18, 2023 - Parents and caregivers can get their child safety seats installed for free by certified technicians this Saturday at nine locations across Louisiana.
National Seat Check Saturday, sponsored by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission and the Louisiana Passenger Safety Task Force, is the culmination of Child Passenger Safety Week. Certified safety seat technicians will be available on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at these locations:
- Gonzales: Cabela's Outdoors, 2200 W. Cabela's Parkway
- Kenner: Divine Mercy Church, 4337 Sal Lentini Parkway
- Houma: Grace Lutheran Church, 422 Valhi Blvd.
- Lake Charles: Southwest Beverage, 3860 Broad St.
- Alexandria: Rapides Regional, 211 Fourth St.
- West Monroe: The Assembly Church, 102 Blanchard St.
- Shreveport: Sheriff's Safety Town, 8910 Jewella St.
- Scott: Scott Fire Dept., 129 Lions Club Road
- Covington: The Parenting Center, 71338 Highway 21
Modern child safety seats are built to protect children if the vehicle is in a crash, but the seats must be installed correctly to be effective, LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said.
“Seat Check Saturday is a great opportunity to meet with trained technicians who can show you which safety seat is right for your child, make sure it is properly installed, and ensure your child is properly restrained,” Freeman said.
Louisiana’s child safety seat law was passed in 2019 and has been hailed as the best in the country for keeping children in the most protected seats and positions as long as practical. The law details which seat and position are appropriate for each child, based on the child’s age and size and the car seat manufacturer’s guidelines.
The general guidelines on child safety seat usage in Louisiana are:
- Children must ride in a rear-facing infant or convertible child safety seat at least until they are two years old and have outgrown the rear-facing seat by height or weight before they graduate to a front-facing seat.
- Children at least four years old and have outgrown the front-facing seat by height or weight can graduate to a belt-positioning child booster seat using a lap-shoulder seat belt.
- Children can graduate to sitting in the rear seat of the vehicle when they are either nine years old or they have outgrown the booster seat, and the following conditions are met: When the child sits all the way back against the vehicle seat, the child’s knees bend over the edge of the vehicle seat, the belt fits snugly across the child's thighs and lower hips, and not the child's abdomen, and the shoulder strap snugly crosses the center of the child's chest and not the child's neck.
- Children under 13 must ride, properly restrained, in the back seat, if a back seat is available.
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