Looking for the Right Child Car Seat? Our Guide Can Help

It is a matter of vital importance to choose the right car seat for your child. These seats provide the best protection from fatal or catastrophic injuries during a car accident. However, many people install car seats incorrectly or choose the wrong ones. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) tool can help parents research and buy the correct child car seat.

How to Use NHTSA’s Safercar.gov to Find a Child Car Seat

NHTSA operates www.safercar.gov, a website where parents can research car seats and sign up for recall notices. Once you load the website, there are several tabs you can choose to start researching. Start off with the ‘Car Seat Types’ tab. This area of the website will help you become familiar with the three types of car seats – rear-facing, forward-facing, and booster seats. Read the descriptions and find out which type of car seat you will need to buy.The “Car Seat by Child’s Age and Size” tab will give more details why you need to select specific types of car seats.Next, click the “Find a Car Seat” tab. This tab allows you to type in your child’s birthday, weight and height to find the correct car seat. Multiple results will load and allow you to make comparisons. Pay close attention to the “ease-of-use” ratings. Ideally, you want to choose a selection with a five-star rating to avoid installing or using the seat incorrectly. The “Ease-of-Use Ratings” tab has more information on this subject.Once you have bought the seat, click the “Register Your Car Seat” tab. Registering your car seat allows the manufacturer to contact you about recalls. You should also sign up to receive car seat recall notices through email. Click the ‘Get Car Seat Recall Notices’ tab on the website to sign up for and receive email alerts. This is one of the most important steps of our guide. If you do not register the seat, you will not be informed of potentially deadly defects. Parents who have already bought child car seats before reading this guide should also register and enroll in these services.After making your purchase, you will need to install the seat. The “How to Install Your Car Seat” tab uses video instructions to walk you through the steps for proper installation. If you are even the least bit unsure on these instructions, see if a local fire or police department offers free installation services. Some Texas Department of Transportation offices also install car seats free-of-charge.You can use the ‘Get Your Seat Inspected’ tab to discover which areas near your address install car seats. Select your state and ZIP code. If we type in Texas and 75901, the search tool shows five locations in Lufkin that will help with installation.The Texas personal injury attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC can help families of children who suffered catastrophic injuries from defective car seats or products.