GOLDEN, Colo. — 75% of people who get their car seat checked have some kind of safety issue identified by Colorado State Patrol (CSP).
It's why Trooper Kent Trimbach wants to remind Coloradans to get their car seat checked. CSP will do it for free. You can search by your ZIP code to find a spot near you at this website.
Trooper Trimbach oversees 1,000 technicians across the state who perform these examinations.
"Misuse can be anything from a chest clip being in the wrong location to the harness not being tight enough, to the seat not being installed correctly," Trooper Trimbach said. "It all depends on the seriousness of the crash, but it can be the difference between life and death."
Baby gear, like a car seat, can be expensive.
Target is also launching its car seat trade-in event September 21. You can turn in your old car seat or base and get a discount towards new baby gear.
Trooper Trimbach warns anyone buying a car seat from a lesser known website or at a garage sale, make sure it's up to safety standards, especially if it seems particularly cheap.
CSP can help parents look into if their car seat is counterfeit or was involved in a previous crash, as part of the agency's free inspections, Trooper Trimbach said.
"If a car seat was in a crash, a lot of times they need to be thrown out," Trooper Trimbach said.
At the same website where you can find the closest car seat inspection station, you can also find free car seat recycling spots.
"Car seats have an expiration date on them, and after that expiration date, a lot of people are wondering what to do with them," Trooper Trimbach said. "So one of the ways that we help with that is I run a program. It's a recycling program, and so I have 18 locations across the state right now, next year, I'll have 19, potentially 20, that you can take your used car seat or damaged car seat to, and we'll recycle it for you. Because the problem is a lot of people will sell them at a garage sale, or they'll sell them somewhere, and you don't know the history of that car seat."
