N.Y. Inspections Reveal Many Parents Flunk Child Car Seat Safety Checks

Results from recent child car seat inspections in New York indicate that parents need to do a better job of buckling up their little ones.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office says 931 car seats were inspected at a series of state-run safety checks earlier this fall. Only 112 seats were installed correctly.

In some cases, the seats were the wrong size for the child. In others, they weren’t tight enough or were positioned incorrectly.

Cuomo says the number of poorly installed car seats is “eye opening.”

The seat checks are operated by the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and state and local police. Last year 375 such events were held.

A 2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) survey revealed that 20 percent of all drivers of child passengers did not read any instructions on how to properly install their child restraints, yet 90 percent felt “confident” or “very confident” that their car seats and booster seats were installed correctly.