Mission
Car seat education and proper installation training classes our available. Car seats available for qualifying financial and residential participants.
It is far too easy for a child to die in a car crash. Children’s bodies have little protection against the tremendous forces caused when cars collide, even at low speed. The safest way to protect children against being hurt is to transport them in a child safety seat in the rear seat of the car. By making sure that your children are properly restrained each time you travel, you provide the best possible protection from death or serious injury in the event of a crash. Show your children how much you love them: buckle them up every trip.
Did You Know?...
- There are new changes to the Georgia Booster Seat Law effective July 1, 2011. For more info, go to http://www.gahighwaysafety.org/childpassengersafety/2011boosterseatchangesga.pdf.
- In Georgia, an average of 35 children under age five are killed every year as passengers in car crashes.
- Nationwide, nearly 60 percent of the children under age five and nearly 70 percent of the children ages five to fourteen that were killed in car crashes in 1995, were not using any type of child safety seat at the time of the crash.
- If child safety seats were used by all children under age five, an estimated 50,000 serious injuries would be prevented and 455 lives would be saved each year.
- Approximately 279 lives were saved in 1995 as a result of child safety seats. An estimated 2,930 lives were saved by child restraints between 1982 and 1995.
- In a crash at only 30 miles per hour, a 10-pound baby would be torn from its parent’s arms and hurled into the dashboard or windshield with a sledgehammer force of 300 pounds. Only an approved child safety seat can best protect a child.
- It can take less than two minutes to install a child safety seat correctly. That two minutes can reduce your child’s risk of death or hospitalization by more than 65 percent.
- Every child safety seat used saves this country $85 in direct health care costs and an additional $1,275 in other costs to society.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the law require that my child be properly restrained?
Yes. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Canada have child occupant protection laws in effect. Georgia’s law requires all children under the age of six be secured in an approved child safety seat and anyone under age 18 must be appropriately restrained. Bear in mind that seat belts are designed to restrain adults, not children.
Do children really need to be buckled up when driving around town or on short trips?
Absolutely. The greatest number of crashes actually occur during short trips at low speeds. About 75 percent of all crashes occur within 25 miles of home. About 40 percent of all fatal crashes occur on roads where the posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour or less.
Do air bags protect my child even better than a safety seat?
No. Air bags are not right for young children -- used improperly they can be seriously injured or killed. Manufacturers recommend never placing a rear-facing child safety seat in front of an active air bag. Children are safest in the back seat. Unrestrained and out-of-position children who are standing, kneeling or sitting near the edge of the front passenger seat in vehicles equipped with an active passenger air bag will be injured by an inflating air bag. Even for adults, air bags are designed to be used in conjunction with a seat belt.
What if I have young children and cannot afford child safety seats?
Georgia has child safety seat programs through the local health department and emergency medical service agencies to serve economically disadvantaged parents. Call to determine when child safety seat education is available.
Proper Use of Child Safety Seats
- Never put a rear-facing infant or convertible seat in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger air bag.
- Read your child safety seat instruction manual and your vehicle owner’s manual for directions on proper installation.
- Do not secure a child safety seat with an automatic safety belt without reviewing the instructions in the vehicle owner’s manual. Some vehicles require additional attachments, such as a locking clip, to ensure that child safety seats fit properly. Locking clips are often included on the back or bottom of the child safety seat.
- Only buy a child safety seat with a certification label that shows that it is approved for use in motor vehicles.
- Do not use a child safety seat when you do not know the history of the seat. Child safety seats are load bearing devices and intended for use in only one crash. If the seat was previously involved in a crash and you do not know of its involvement in a crash, the seat could be unsafe for your child. Microscopic tears or cracks may have occurred that you are unable to see.
- Call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Auto Safety Hotline (1-800-424-9393) to see if any recalls or safety notices have been issued for your child safety seat.
- The type of child safety seat to use depends on your child’s size and weight, and in some cases, the type of car in which you are using the seat. Use the table below to make sure your child’s current child safety seat is appropriate.
The requirement for carseats are as follows:
- Resident of Troup County
- Meet income guidelines
Call the Troup County Health Department for more information or to schedule a class.
Classes are scheduled on a monthly basis. A $10.00 fee applies for each class.
Call the Troup County Health Department for more information or to schedule a class.
Classes are scheduled on a monthly basis. A $10.00 fee applies for each class.
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