THE NEED FOR PERMANENT CPS
INSPECTION STATIONS

Over the years, local, state and national surveys have been conducted on child safety seat use. They reveal alarming statistics about the safety of children traveling in motor vehicles. Nationally, misuse rates are estimated to be about 80 percent and can be found in all races, socio-economic and educational levels. This means that children traveling in every community across America are being placed at risk for serious injuries or death because they are improperly restrained or not restrained at all. The responsibility for proper installation of child safety seats is placed with the parents and other adult caregivers. However, the wide variety of child restraint systems, belt systems and passenger vehicles can make the correct installation of a child restraint system a challenge. Some vehicle designs limit the number of seating positions that can be used with child restraint systems. Some child restraint systems are simply incompatible with certain vehicles. And with so many different vehicle designs, it is difficult for child safety seat manufacturers to illustrate correct use of every child safety seat in every type of vehicle. To properly install the seat, parents must refer to both the child safety seat manufacturer’s instructions and the vehicle owner’s manual. The new LATCH2 (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system will help resolve many of these compatibility issues. However, older model vehicles that do not have LATCH systems will remain in the vehicle fleet for many years to come and some child seat compatibility issues will still exist.

It is understandable that most parents and caregivers need to seek assistance for:

• Using the correct child safety seat for the age/size of the child.
  
• Installing the seat correctly.
  
• Placing the child in the seat correctly.
  
• Obtaining information and experience that will lead to self-sufficiency for future use.
  

Hands-on instruction to educate parents about the correct use of child safety seats is a proven safety intervention. Frequently, such hands-on experience has occurred during a child safety seat clinic, also known as a “check-up event” or “checkpoint.” A child safety seat clinic can be conducted as:

• A public service to educate caregivers about the basics of correct child safety seat installation and to detect unsafe installations or recalled seats.
  
• A hands-on training for CPS educators and technicians.
  
• A way to encourage compliance with state and local safety belt and CPS laws.

Child safety seat clinics are often sponsored by local law enforcement, fire and rescue personnel, public health groups or businesses, and are usually held on an ad hoc basis. They may coincide with a community event (e.g., health fair, safety day) or they may be part of a special promotional event sponsored by a local business. Publicity for child safety seat clinics varies based on the size of an event and the sponsoring organization(s). Large, high profile events may be publicized by event sponsors (e.g., vehicle manufacturers/car dealerships, major insurance companies) and may include partnerships with local media outlets (television, radio, print media). For smaller community events, publicity is often left to the CPS technicians and local community groups. The turnout for child safety seat clinics is often high and anecdotal evidence suggests that they are important educational resources for parents and other caregivers. However, there are drawbacks to holding periodic check-up events:

• Parents may learn of the event too late to participate.
  
• Parents may not be able to get to the event during the scheduled time.
  
• Inclement weather may cancel or abbreviate the event, as most are held outdoors.
  
• Long waiting lines can last for 2-3 hours.
  

CPS inspection stations are alternative approaches to periodic child safety seat clinics. Many of the same community groups (law enforcement, fire and rescue, businesses and health care organizations) choose to sponsor or support permanent CPS inspection stations rather than host periodic CPS clinics. Although the basic operation of an inspection station is similar to the operation of a clinic, there are some important differences. A CPS inspection station provides the following advantages:

Permanent Location

There is a designated location within the community to operate the CPS inspection station that is accessible to everyone. Even if a mobile station is used, the location of the site is consistent in each community served. The location should have adequate shelter for conducting inspections in inclement weather and should be able to insure the safety of parents/caregivers, children and the inspection station staff.

Regular Schedule

There is a regular schedule of operation – whether it is daily, weekly or monthly – with consistent hours. A variety of outlets may be used to advertise the inspection station’s schedule including permanent signs, voicemail, the Internet, flyers, and community calendars. In addition, community partners should be familiar with the site’s operation so referrals can be made. CPS inspections may be done with or without appointments, depending upon the staffing resources available.

Consistent Point of Contact

There is often a sponsoring organization with a CPS coordinator who oversees the operation of the inspection station and serves as a source of “quality control” for inspection activities. The coordinator maintains records for all inspections conducted at the station. The coordinator is a consistent point of contact to the community for the inspection station’s operation. The coordinator should be able to provide information about general CPS issues and make referrals to other CPS resources when necessary (e.g., loaner programs, state CPS contacts, and CPS technicians experienced in working with children with special health care needs).

Both the periodic CPS clinics and the permanent CPS inspection stations serve an important public service for community traffic safety. Each community must decide which method of hands-on CPS education will work best. The decision to maintain a permanent CPS inspection station within the community requires an on-going commitment from many partners and a great deal of community support.

² More information on the LATCH installation system can be found on the NHTSA web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

Back to Top or Next