FOR RELEASE:  May 6, 2022

Mayor Janice S. Mironov announced East Windsor Township is launching a Child Passenger Car Seat Safety initiative, which kicks off on Wednesday, May 11 at 3 P.M. to 7 P.M., underwritten by a $6,480 New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety grant.  This pro-active initiative, offered at no cost for Township residents, will be held on Thursday, June 9, Monday, July 18, and Friday, September 16 from 3 P.M. to 7 P.M. at the East Windsor Police/Court Building (80 One Mile Road) and then at the Township National Night Out event at the East Windsor PAL Complex (30 Airport Road) on Tuesday, August 2 from 6 P.M. to 9 P.M.

The Township program is designed to outreach and educate motorists about properly securing children passengers in child car seats as required by State law.  Pursuant to this program, residents can have their child car seats inspected for proper fit and installation in their vehicles and receive educational materials regarding use of child car seats and current child restraint laws.  A complete inspection of a child passenger car seat by a local officer, who is a certified child passenger safety seat technician, takes approximately 20 minutes; no appointment is necessary.

According to Mayor Mironov,  “Statistics assembled from several organizations including the American Automobile Association and the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety underscore that having a properly installed child passenger car seat is extremely important to ensure the safety of our young children in motor vehicles.   It is noteworthy that motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for young children and that two out of three child car seats are incorrectly installed.  The proper use of child car seats is one of the simplest and most effective means to protect young children passengers.”  Mayor Mironov added,  “This pro-active initiative is to focus publicly on the high value of using child car seats and most critically using them properly.  East Windsor’s grant-funded program will allow residents, at no cost, to have their child car seats inspected by a professionally certified technician to ensure they are properly installed, and receive educational literature offering tips on child safety in vehicles.  All East Windsor residents with child passenger car seats are strongly encouraged to attend one of these free events.”

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths among children ages 14 and under in the United States.  Young children restrained in child seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained.  Child safety seats have been shown to reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants less than one year old and by 54 percent in toddlers ages one through four years.