South Metro Fire Rescue, Colorado

Car seat checks 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month
2nd Wednesday in Lone Tree
4th Wednesday in Parker
Please call 720-989-2271 for an appointment. Appointments take 30 minutes per car seat.
If your car seat has been involved in a major or moderate crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that you replace the child's car seat. If your car was involved in a minor crash (little exterior or interior damage), the car seat does not need to be replaced unless ALL of the following criteria are met.

• The vehicle was able to be driven away
• The vehicle door nearest the car seat was undamaged
• There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants
• The air bags (if present) did not deploy
• There is no visible damage to the car seat

What is the best car seat to purchase?
The best car seat to purchase is one that fits your car and your child the best. If you have three car seats to fit into the back seat, you need to be looking for a thinner car seat. If you have a tall thin child you will be looking for a car seat that has tall height limits.

What is the law for kids in car seats?
It’s the driver’s responsibility to ensure that child passengers are properly buckled up in the appropriate restraint on every trip. The child restraint must have a label that states it meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 213 set forth in Section 49 C.F.R. 571.213, as amended.

Colorado State Law: Children must be 1 year old AND 20 pounds before they can be turned to move forward facing.
South Metro Fire recommends that all children be placed rear facing until they are 30-35 pounds (depending on the maximum rear facing weight limit). Recent crash tests show that children in a crash between the 20 and 30 pounds perform better in rear-facing seats. The children that are forward facing are having head and neck injuries because of the larger head and immature neck muscles.
Colorado State Law: Children can be forward facing once they are 1 year old AND 20 pounds until they are 4 years old or 40 pounds.
Colorado State Law: Children who are at least 4 years old or 40 pounds and less than 55 inches tall must be in a booster seat.
Colorado State Law: A child, who is at least six years old or is at least 55 inches tall, must be properly restrained with the motor vehicle's safety belt.

South Metro Fire recommends that proper seat belt fit is achieved when the child meets the 5-Step Test developed by Safety Belt Safe U.S.A.
1) The child can sit all the way back against the auto seat.
2) The child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat.
3) The belt crosses the shoulder between the neck and arm.
4) The lap belt is as low as possible touching the thighs.
5) The child can stay seated like this for the whole trip.

IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THE CAR SEAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN IS THE CORRECT ONE FOR YOUR CHILD, PLEASE CONTACT SMFRA FOR A CAR SEAT APPOINTMENT. ONE OF OUR TECHNICIANS WILL BE ABLE TO CHECK YOUR CAR, CAR SEAT, AND HOW YOUR CHILD FITS IN THAT SEAT. Call 720-989-2271.