Colorado State Patrol team up with CDOT to offer free car seat inspections

The Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol are coming together to help parents correctly install their children's car seats in their vehicles. Both agencies are offering two free car seat inspections so parents can learn how to appropriately install a child's car seat while making sure the car seat is the right size.

All the parents have to do is show up to these locations for the checkup.

Saturday, Sept. 21

• 8-11 a.m. @ Garfield Lake Park
  3600 W. Mississippi Ave., Denver, CO 80219
  
• Noon to 3 p.m. @ Ruby Hill Park
  1200 W. Florida Ave., Denver, CO 80223

Car seat technicians tell CBS Colorado First Alert Traffic Tracker Reporter that in 2023, 78% of car seats that were inspected were not being used correctly or were not installed properly. These include:

• The harness not being tight enough or too loose over the child
• The chest clip is in the wrong position
• Buckle straps are wrong because the child is too big and ends up sitting on them
• People forget to lock the retractor. This is used to keep the car seat in the actual seat
• Car seats not facing the right direction

You can find out how to appropriately put in your car seat by checking the stickers on the car seat. Car seat technicians tell CBS Colorado in the event of a crash, if the car seat is not correct, the child could suffer serious injuries or be killed.

"Rear-facing only car seats puts the crash forces around the shell of the car seat and distributes them over the entire body instead of in one spot," Kent Trimbach with Colorado State Patrol said. "This is versus the child in a front-facing car seat. A lot of times their head is bigger than the rest of their body, and you can really damage your spine, your neck and things like that."

Parents who are unable to make the above times can set up a free appointment online with CDOT experts .