Lee Health offers Tips for spotting counterfeit car seats and ensuring child safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) establishes guidelines for approved car seats based on crash testing and research. Julie Noble, coordinator for Lee Health Safe Kids SWFL, highlighted the importance of car seat safety as families travel during the summer, noting that correctly installed car seats can reduce the risk of injury by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. Noble explained that all U.S.-approved car seats are required to have instructional labels detailing proper use and height and weight limits. Noble also addressed the issue of counterfeit car seats, which are imitations of certified child car seats that have not been properly tested or approved to meet federal motor vehicle safety standards. “They may use lower-quality materials, faulty components or missing safety features that could fail in a crash,” Noble said. These counterfeit seats are often sold at unusually low prices or through unverified online sellers, making them difficult for consumers to identify. She advised parents and caregivers to watch for missing instructional manuals, inconsistencies in packaging, no Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) labels, no chest clip, or labels that state “baby” or “stroller carrier.” To assist families, Golisano Children’s Hospital offers free car seat checks and installation help. “There is no shame in not knowing all the details of car seat safety. Many well-intentioned parents and caregivers are simply doing their best with the information they have at the time,” Noble said. Families can contact a child passenger safety technician at Golisano Children’s Hospital by calling the Child Advocacy Department at 239-343-5101. Noble also encouraged parents and caregivers to register car seats with the manufacturer to receive recall notifications and to download NHTSA’s SaferCar app, which allows users to save vehicle, car seat, and tire information in a virtual garage and receive notifications for safety recalls. For more information, visit Lee Health’s website and search for child passenger safety.WATCH THE FULL SEGMENT ABOVE.DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.