Child Seat Safety Guilford Police
24 hours/7 days a week Phone203-453-8061 | emergency: Dial 911

Child Seat Safety

Child Seat Safety

Car Seat Clinic

The Child passenger safety program is conducted in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Safe Kids Program

(ADDITIONAL LINKS ARE LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE)

The Child passenger safety program is designed to educate the motoring public about Child Safety Seat issues and to promote the proper use of Child Safety Seats. You can get additional information by clicking on either of the links above, after viewing our information here.

Our most frequently asked questions

To help you with quick information on Child seats we selected the answers to the top four questions that our Child Safety Seat Technicians regularly receive.

  1. Rear facing infant or convertible seats – Under two (2) years and under 30 pounds with a 5 point harness
  2. Forward facing seat – Over two (2) years and over 30 pounds with 5 point harness
  3. Booster seats – Child must be at least 5 years old and over 40 pounds
  4. Front seating – Over 8 years and 60 pounds. We never put any child seat in front if there is an active front airbag. Children must be in child restraint until they are 8 years and 60 pounds

The Guilford Police Department is committed to Child Safety and will be conducting Child Safety Seat Inspections and clinics. For a schedule of dates and times please check back at this page.

More Child Safety Seat Clinics Scheduled at this time.

Our CPS technicians do regular child safety seat inspections at the following scheduled times:

First (1st) and Third (3rd) Wednesdays of each month from 3:30pm to 6:30pmChild Safety installation

You may also contact one of our “Child Passenger Seat Technicians” at 203-453-8061


Please ask for one of the above Officer’s or their voice mail to leave a message or request information.

If you are going to attend one of the safety seat clinics or are requesting a new installation/inspection, please be sure that you bring both the Child Seat manual and your vehicle owner’s manual. Having both of these items is essential for proper inspection and or installation.  Please be sure to have the seats unpacked from any boxes and assembled in accordance with the owner’s manual and be sure to have read the owner’s manual to ensure proper understanding of it’s usage prior to arrival.

E-mail general questions to CPS Technician Sgt. Dane Lawrence at ( lawrenced@guilfordct.gov )

*Please include a daytime phone number in your e-mail. You will receive a reply either by e-mail or phone.

Child Restraint Tips

Airbags are deadly for infants

  • An airbag inflates with an explosive force in a split second. It will do so even in a low-speed collision.
  • A rear facing child restraint is so close to the airbag compartment that it gets in the way of the inflating bag. The bag hits the back of the child restraint with tremendous force. This violent blow is transmitted to the infants head and will cause a fatal or catastrophic injury.

*** Please be sure to read your vehicle’s owner’s manual for more information about airbags and children. ***

Older children are also at risk

  • If it is necessary for an older child to ride in the front seat that has an airbag, take these precautions:
  • Move the vehicle seat as far back as it will go.
  • Make sure that the child is restrained correctly.
  • Do not allow him/her to reach for radio controls or to bend down to retrieve something from the floor.

The U.S. Government Safety agency recommends that children ride in the back seat to age 13.

Some “DO NOTS” of Child Safety

  • DO NOT use a booster seat with only a lap belt.
  • DO NOT put a shoulder belt under the child’s arm.
  • DO NOT place a child forward facing until age two (2) and at least 30 pounds.
  • DO NOT let children ride unrestrained. It is unsafe at any age.
  • DO NOT let children ride in the bed of a pickup truck.
  • DO NOT hold a child on your lap in a car.
  • DO NOT put a baby in the front seat with an airbag.

Children at RISK!

Motor vehicle crashes cause more deaths and injuries than all childhood diseases combined. Every year, some 600 children under age five are killed while riding in automobiles. Tens of thousands are injured. Many injuries leave children physically and/or mentally disabled for life.
Motor vehicle crashes are also the leading cause of death and injury among older children, teenagers and young adults.

Buckle them up – It’s the law

Buckle up America

In order to prevent these tragedies, all 50 states and every province in Canada have laws requiring children to ride in motor vehicles secured in safety seats. Older children must use safety belts.

Additional Child Safety Seat Links