Published on June 13, 2018

Mayor Janice S. Mironov announced that East Windsor Township is launching a Child Passenger - Car Safety Seat initiative to kick off on Saturday, June 30 and run through September 2018, underwritten by a $7,000 New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety grant.  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 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.  These free inspections for Township residents will be held on the following dates and locations:

• Saturday, June 30:  East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No.2, 69 Twin Rivers Drive from 12 P.M. to 4 P.M. during an open house fire safety event
• Saturday, July 7:  Etra Lake Park from 4 P.M. to 9 P.M. in the Disbrow Hill Playing Fields parking lot, coinciding with the Township Independence Day Celebration
• Saturday, July 21:  Etra Lake Park from 4 P.M. to 9 P.M. in the Disbrow Hill Playing Fields parking lot, coinciding with the Township Family Night in the Park event
• Tuesday, August 7:  East Windsor PAL Complex located at 30 Airport Road from 6 P.M. to 9 P.M. in the main parking lot, during the Township National Night Out event
• Thursday, Sept. 13:  East Windsor Police/Court Building located at 80 One Mile Road from 3 P.M. to 8 P.M.

A complete inspection of a child passenger safety seat takes less than 10 minutes and will be conducted by nationally certified child passenger safety seat technicians.

According to Mayor Mironov, “Statistics from all groups including the American Automobile Association and NJ Highway Traffic Safety underscore that having a properly installed child car safety 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 safety seats are incorrectly installed.  The proper use of child safety 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 safety seats and importantly using them properly.  East Windsor’s free program will allow residents to have their child safety seats inspected and ensure that they are installed properly.  Residents will also be given educational literature offering tips on child safety in vehicles.  All residents with child car safety seats are 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.