FOR RELEASE:  April 18, 2024

EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP LAUNCHES GRANT FUNDED CHILD PASSENGER CAR SEAT SAFETY INITIATIVE

Mayor Janice S. Mironov announced that East Windsor Township is launching a Child Passenger Car Seat Safety initiative to run from June through September, underwritten by a $7,500 New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety grant.  This pro-active initiative, offered for Township residents will be held at the East Windsor Police/Court building located at 80 One Mile Road on Friday, May 10, Thursday, June 6, Wednesday, July 10 and Monday, September 16 from 3 P.M. to 7 P.M. and at the Township National Night Out event at the East Windsor PAL Complex (30 Airport Road) on Tuesday, August 6.

The Township program is designed to outreach and educate motorists about properly securing children passengers in child seats as required by State law.  Pursuant to this program, residents, at no cost, 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 takes less than 10 minutes and is conducted by a nationally certified child passenger safety seat technicians, 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 four out of five 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 vehicles crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths among children ages 14 and under in the United States.  Properly installed child safety seats, can prevent injuries and save lives.  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 45 percent in toddlers ages one through four years.   National studies have determined that most child safety seats are improperly installed or misused, thus negatively impacting the safety value of these devices.