From – safekids.org

Hometown Insurance wants to help you keep your family safe!

Engineers are working hard to ensure that cars and car seats are designed to keep kids as safe as possible. But it’s up to every parent to take full advantage of these innovations by making sure car seats and booster seats are used and installed correctly. Here’s what you need to know to ensure that your most precious cargo is safe in cars.

Hard Facts

Road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States. Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent.

Top Tips

• Seventy-three percent of car seats are not used or installed correctly, so before you hit the road, check your car seat. Below is a car seat checklist to help you out. It takes only 15 minutes. If you are having even the slightest trouble, questions or concerns, certified child passenger safety technicians are able to help or even double check your work.
• Learn how to install your car seat for free. Safe Kids hosts car seat inspection events across the country where certified technicians can help make sure your car seat is properly installed. They will teach you so that you can always be sure your car seat is used correctly. Find a Safe Kids car seat checkup event near you.
• Buy a used car seat only if you know its full crash history. That means you must buy it from someone you know, not from a thrift store or over the Internet. Once a car seat has been in a crash, it needs to be replaced.
• We know that when adults wear seat belts, kids wear seat belts. So be a good example and buckle up for every ride. Be sure everyone in the vehicle buckles up, too.
• Never leave your child alone in a car, not even for a minute. While it may be tempting to dash out for a quick errand, the temperature inside your car can rise 20 degrees and cause heatstroke in the time it takes for you to run in and out of the store.

Learn More

While it may seem like you need an engineering degree to figure out which child safety seat is best for your child, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Read more tips at www.safekids.org and we’ll help you pick the right seat for your child’s age, weight, height and developmental stage.

Questions about auto insurance? Call your experienced licensed agent at Hometown Insurance today at 1-800-568-SAVE (7283) or email service@hometowninsurance.com to discuss your options for auto or any other insurance need.