Are You Installing Your Car Seat Incorrectly? Find Out With Lubbock’s Checkup Event

Properly buckling your child into a car seat can be tricky, especially if this is your first child. Luckily for new parents, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is hosting a car seat checkup event open to the public this weekend.

That's right, on Saturday, June 27 from 10 a.m. to noon, parents can swing by the YWCA of Lubbock at 6501 University Avenue for help with installing their child's car seat.

Check out the announcement on X from TxDOT Lubbock:

What can you expect to see at the event? Certified car seat technicians (yes, those are real) will be at the event teaching parents, caregivers, and guardians the proper way to buckle small children into car seats. All they ask is that parents bring the current car seat they are using as well as the child's age and size.

Why Is Car Seat Safety Such a Big Deal?

It may seem like such a minor thing, but one little mistake like not properly buckling or getting a seat that's the wrong size can put your child at risk whenever you start driving.

In Texas, children under the age of 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat while in the vehicle. Try as they might, two out of every three safety seats are not actually used correctly by parents.

According to TxDOT, these are the most common mistakes when using car seats:

• The harness straps are placed through the wrong slots
• The chest clip is not correctly positioned
• The harness is too loose
• The wrong seat belt path was used
• The installation left the seat too loose

So, no matter if you are on child number one or child number six, you should always know how to properly install and strap them into a car seat.

Even if it's a refresher, events like the one in Lubbock this weekend provide parents with the knowledge to ensure their children are as safe as can be when the car takes off.