Parents and grandparents are being encouraged to take a few minutes to make sure children are riding safely as National Child Passenger Safety Week begins Sunday, September 20.

The annual safety campaign runs through Saturday, September 26, with the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety encouraging parents and caregivers to have child safety seats checked regularly to make sure they are properly installed and appropriate for the child using them.

GOHS Director Allen Poole says more than half of the child safety seats seen by certified technicians nationwide are not properly installed, which can make them less effective in protecting children during a crash.

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians can check whether a seat is installed correctly, determine whether it is subject to a recall and help parents learn how to properly secure their child. Technicians can also determine whether the seat is appropriate for the child’s age and size.

Georgia law requires children under age 8 to be properly restrained in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat. State safety officials also say children under 8 generally must ride in the rear seat.

Choosing the correct restraint is important as children grow. Booster seats are designed for children who have outgrown a forward-facing car seat but are still too small for an adult seat belt to fit properly. According to GOHS, children using booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than children using a seat belt alone.

Parents should also check the manufacturer’s height and weight requirements for their child’s seat and make sure the harness or seat belt fits properly.

National Child Passenger Safety Week concludes with National Seat Check Saturday on September 26, when families around the country are encouraged to have their child restraints inspected by trained technicians.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety maintains an online directory of free child passenger safety inspection stations across Georgia, where parents and caregivers can receive help with car-seat installation throughout the year.