TAMPA, Fla — September is the month nationwide where experts take the time to educate parents on child passenger safety. A bill to change booster seat guidelines in Florida died in the state legislature this year at the end of the session.
The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association wants parents to know how to keep their kids safe.
Whether you're on the highway or even just going down the street, when you drive anywhere with a child, it can bring on anxiety.
“Crashes are violent events, and there’s a lot of force acting on a child, and we need to be able to direct that force to the strongest area of the body. The parts that can withstand the force," said Joe Colella, the Director of Child Passenger Safety for JPMA.
It's why car seats and even boosters are so important. Colella knows how traumatic and devastating it is to lose a child.
“It was 30 years ago, but my sister was in a crash and we lost my niece during that crash," he said. "She was three years old at the time. I can tell you from a very personal experience everything in your life changes.”
It's why he got into child passenger safety and helps educate parents all over the country.
“To be honest, Florida has one of the, let’s say, you know, I’ll just say it out right — it’s one of the worst laws in the country as far as passenger safety goes," Colella said.
In Florida, booster seats are only required for kids up to age 5. This year, state lawmakers attempted to change that to kids up to 7. It received overwhelming support in both the House and Senate, but the bill ultimately died before it became law.
“If you look at Florida in 2021, which was the last year we have full analysis of fatalities for — Florida lost the third most kids," Colella said. "Texas was number one, California number two, Florida was number three for motor vehicle-related incident which is frightening.”
That's why he said parents need to make the decision for themselves on how long their child should stay in a booster. He said most kids aren't ready for a seat belt until they're 10-12 years old.
“Most people have the main idea of how a car seat should go, but it’s not always right," said Officer Liz De Jesus Ramos with Tampa Police Department District 2 Engagement.
ABC Action News Anchor Heather Leigh is just a few weeks away from giving birth to her first child, so she took her car seat to the Tampa Police Department to have it installed. This is a service they offer anyone for free. In some cases, you may even qualify for a free car seat.
“I’ll explain it to them step-by-step on how to do it, and I’ll let them ask any questions," said Officer De Jesus Ramos. "Also, if they want to do it, to demonstrate it to me so they know they’re doing it right, I stay there and let them do it.”
While Heather was at TPD, Officer De Jesus Ramos had trouble because the strap on Heather's car seat was twisted. Issues like this can happen to anyone! Thankfully, De Jesus Ramos was able to get it flipped around the right way so it could be properly installed.
“Take the 20 minutes, take the half an hour, and go to one of these inspection stations because you’ll go from having an unsafe child to having a safe child and just that period of time. It’s a good investment," Colella said.
Click hereto see JPMA's recommendations for safe child seat installation.
Click here to see a list of installation stations in your area.
