Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected?

Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected?

Stephanie Tombrello (Child Passenger Safety Educator & Executive Director, SafetyBeltSafe USA) gives expert video advice on: What qualities should I look for in a child safety seat?; Is it safe to use an old or second-hand child safety seat?; Can I still use a child safety seat after an accident? and more...

Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected? Many people want to have their safety seats checked by someone who has technical training and we certainly encourage considering that. There's a wide variation in the experience and knowledge of people who are certified as technicians and there is not just one kind of location that we can guarantee will have a safety seat checker. Here are some clues. First of all, you can check the list at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or at SeatCheck.org to see the names and locations of people who are certified -- some of whom will be willing to check your safety seat. Secondly, if you go to someone who is a certified child passenger safety technician, here are some clues that you should expect to see. First of all, the technician should be recording information about your child, your vehicle and your safety seat. Secondly, the person should be using the instructions for the safety seat and the vehicle owner's manual. There are also some products such as a book that has information about a lot of vehicles and the equipment that they have inside to protect children. That is a good reference manual and many technicians will have that. You want to make sure that the person is teaching you about your safety seat and how to install it -- not simply installing the seat for you -- because the idea is that you'll be able to do this correctly and who knows when the next time is that you'll need to remove the safety seat. You want to make sure that the person has a current recall list. We can't tell you what that date will be because we never know. Today, the date on a current recall list might be a particular date. Two days later there might be a new recall. So you want to make sure it's current. Finally, you want to make sure that the person has information for you that is really current and that they're giving you the best suggestions for what the newest information is, not something that was the recommendation two or three years ago.