One of the most important responsibilities you’ve got as a parent is to keep your child safe. Especially while riding in a vehicle. Each year thousands of children are killed or injured in automobile accidents. According to statistics, using child safety seats correctly reduces the risk of potential injuries by 50 to 70%. Yet three-quarters of all child safety seats are used incorrectly.

Some parents choose the wrong seats for their child; some do not install them properly; some misuse the restraint system. All of these little mistakes cast a shadow over your child’s safety while he or she is riding the car with you. To avoid the potentially terrible outcome of an injured child after a collision, you have to make sure that your kids are fully protected. To do that, you have to make the most of your car’s safety equipment.

If you are not sure whether the child safety system is exploited correctly in your car, you can always check it at a special inspection station – they are set up across the whole country. This car test is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and is free of charge in most cases. As the NHTSA describes the service, it is “a place where parents and caregivers can learn how to safely transport children by using the appropriate child safety seat or safety belt correctly; a one-on-one tutorial instruction provided by certified CPS technicians on the proper use and installation of child restraints”

Another important moment is choosing the child safety seat itself. Parents can be overwhelmed by the huge variety of them on the market, and as a result pick the wrong one. Consequences of that mistake can be catastrophic. To help parents make the right choices, the Department of Transportation has prepared some recommendations.