This week is Child Passenger Safety Week, and the Union City Police Department is encouraging parents and caregivers to ensure their children ride safely by using the correct car seats for their age and size.
The annual campaign runs through Saturday, Sept. 21. Law enforcement agencies, public health departments and other community organizations throughout the Bay Area and the country are involved with the campaign.
“Every child deserves to travel safely,” Union City Police Department Sgt. Steven Fong said in a statement. “During Child Passenger Safety Week, we urge all parents and caregivers to take a few minutes to double-check their child’s car seat. Keeping a child in the right seat for their age and size can make all the difference in a crash.”
California law requires all children under two years of age to ride in a rear-facing car seat, unless the child is 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. Once a child reaches these milestones, all children under the age of eight are still required to be secured in a car seat or booster seat.
Children under the age of eight may not ride in the front seat unless the vehicle is not equipped with a rear, forward-facing seat. Children eight years old and older, or who are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall, may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be wearing a properly fitted safety belt.
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to keep children in the proper rear or forward-facing seat as long as possible and use the Five-Step Test to determine if their child is big enough to safely use a seat belt without a booster seat.
Free child safety seat inspections are available at local California Highway Patrol offices. Visit the CHP’s website to locate a specific office.
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