Child Seat Safety
Enhanced Child Passenger Safety Law Will Increase Booster Seat Use
In April 2008, Governor Deval Patrick signed Senate Bill 2018, dubbed the Booster Seat Bill, into law. This law went into effect on July 10, 2008. This enhancement of the Massachusetts Child Passenger Safety Law requires that all children riding in passenger motor vehicles must be in a federally approved child passenger restraint that is properly fastened and secured until they are 8 years old or over 57" tall. This will significantly increase the number of children who will be required to ride in a booster seat.
Making Children Safer
The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security's Highway Safety Division with its partners is working to implement the new child passenger safety law and ensure all children are safer when riding in motor vehicles. According to the Centers for Disease Control, motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of death among children ages 3 to 14.Child Seat Safety Checkpoints
A major component of the implementation of the new law will be child safety seat checkpoints offered around the Commonwealth. Checkpoints are important because most parents do not properly restrain their children in vehicles. At checkpoints nationally certified technicians inspect child safety seats and educate parents and guardians about how to correctly use their children's seats.
Concord Police Department Checkpoint
The Concord Police Department offers a Children's Safety Seat Checkpoint.To make a checkpoint appointment or to receive more information regarding child safety seats complete our online form.
Safety Day
The Concord Police periodically hosts a Child Passenger Safety Checkpoint Safety Day, where safety seats / booster seats are inspected for proper installation by a certified technician, free of cost. Check the Concord Journal for announcements on the next Safety Day or for additional information, contact at 978-318-3400.Properly Restrained
Are you and your child passengers properly restrained while driving? Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among children ages 3 to 14 in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). An average of 5 children age 14 and younger were killed and 640 injured in motor vehicle crashes each day across the United States in 2005. Even a sudden stop can seriously injure a child who is not riding securely in the right type of child safety seat.
When proper installed, child safety seats reduce the risk of death in a motor vehicle crash by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. Amazingly, according to the Massachusetts Governor's Highway Safety Bureau, about 95% of child safety seats checked in Massachusetts are improperly installed.
State and local police and others involved in child passenger safety (CPS) work continuously to educate parents and caregivers on how to safely transport children in motor vehicles. But state and local police are ready to enforce the Massachusetts CPS Law if necessary to protect children. In 2006 Massachusetts drivers were issued 1,060 CPS Law violations for unrestrained children.