LIHU‘E — There were more than seven completed car seat inspections within the first 90 minutes of the free inspection program at the Walmart store parking lot on Saturday.
“This is pretty good for the first hour,” said one member of the inspection crew. “And we have 90 minutes to go. This is all about keeping our children safe.”
The inspector attributed the success to the fact that people at Walmart are shoppers coming to buy things.
Hawai‘i traffic regulations state all children under 10 years old must be properly restrained, regardless of how many seat belt assemblies are in the vehicle.
An amendment to the Child Passenger Safety Law passed on June 27, 2022, amended the requirements for child passenger restraint by requiring rear facing child safety seats for children less than 2 years of age, and increased the age through which a child must use a child passenger restraint, or booster seat, to 10 years.
The law further states that violators of the law will be required by the court to attend a child passenger safety class approved by the Hawai‘i state judiciary.
Car seat checkup events like the one presented by the Safe Kids Worldwide and State Farm Insurance are not about catching law breakers, but about making sure youth restraint units, like car safety seats or boosters, are appropriately installed.
Car seats purchased at major retailers, like Walmart or Target, come with printed instructions on how to properly install the seats. However, if purchases are made through private individuals or from garage sales, there are usually no instructions, leaving the new seat owner to rely on online help.
Certified car seat inspectors check for proper installation. They also continue with a visual inspection to see the soundness of the seat, as well as if the seat has been recalled by the manufacturer.
Inspectors also walk the seat owner through the installation process, ensuring the seat owner is familiar with properly installing the safety seat, or booster.
For people who cannot afford a proper safety car seat, inspectors have a limited amount of seats available for those people who cannot afford one.
Coordinated by Lisa Dau of the Kapiolani Hospital for Women and Children, the seat checkup events also serve as a certification process for car seat inspectors.
During the pandemic, Kaua‘i had no certified inspectors on island following the expiration of certifications and no new certifications being activated.
The next car seat checkup event will take place in September at a site to be determined.
