Santa Clara County Fire Department

Car Seat and Passenger Safety

Is your child's car seat installed correctly? It is estimated that more than 85% of all car seats are improperly installed. Below are agencies that can provide car seat installation information and referrals to certified child passenger safety specialists. For more information, please call the Public Education Office.

Child Seat Inspections

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: www.nhtsa.dot.gov (1.888.327.4236)
NHTSA's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce traffic related health care and other economic costs. NHTSA offers a wide variety of motor vehicle and traffic safety information services and literature. Listed below are just a few of the topics they can help with:

Locate a Child Safety Seat Inspection Station by State:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm

SAFE KIDS Coalition: www.safekids.org or telephone: 650.724.1788

Seat Check: www.seatcheck.org or telephone: 1.866.SEAT.CHECK (1.866.732.8243)
Please note: car seats should only be inspected and/or installed by a "Certified" Child Passenger Safety Technician. The Santa Clara County Fire Department does not inspect or install car seats. Please see the above links for assistance with car seat safety.

Car Seat Inspection Stations within Santa Clara County

AAA - San Jose Office
5340 Thorwood Drive, San Jose 95123
Car seat checks by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment call: 408.514.2287

Car & Booster Seat Safety: www.csaa.com

California Highway Patrol (CHP) - San Jose
2020 Junction Avenue, San Jose 95131
Car seat checks by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment call: 408.467.5400

Child Safety Seats Save Lives: www.chp.ca.gov/html/safetyseats.html
Child Booster/Safety Seats: www.chp.ca.gov/html/boosterseats.html
FAQ's: www.chp.ca.gov/html/child_safetyseat_faqs.html

Lucille Packard Children's Hospital
725 Welch Road, Palo Alto 94304
Car seat checks by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment call: 650.736.2981

The Maggie Adalyn Otto Safely Home Car Seat Fitting Station and information: http://www.carseatfitting.lpch.org

San Jose Police Department
1671 The Alameda, San Jose 95126
Car seat checks by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment call: 408.277.4133

Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety
700 All American Way, Sunnyvale 94086
Car seat checks by appointment only.
To schedule an appointment call: 408.730.7179 - Car Seat hotline

Additional helpful links

American Academy of Pediatrics: www.aap.org

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (English and Spanish): www.chop.edu/carseat

Consumer Reports: www.consumerreports.org

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: www.hwysafety.org

National Safety Council: www.nsc.org

Partners for Child Passenger Safety: www.chop.edu/carseat

SafetyBeltSafe (in English and Spanish): www.carseat.org

State of California Official Website (Office of Traffic Safety): www.ots.ca.gov

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