CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION COURSE DATES:

Click Here to access the Nebraska Safe Kids website to register for a CPS technician certification course.

Like Check-Up Events, parents can get information and assistance on the proper use of child safety seats at Inspection Stations. Unlike Check-Up Events, Inspection Stations are permanent locations. Most Inspection Stations require you to schedule an appointment.

Click here to view a list of Inspection Stations located in Nebraska.

Click here to locate a Child Passenger Safety Technician.

The purpose of this application is to be recognized as a Nebraska CSS Inspection Station. Applicants must be either a political subdivision of 501c3 non–profit organization. Upon recognition as a Nebraska CSS Inspection Station the organization may conduct child safety seat inspections as outlined in the application guidelines. Nebraska CSS Inspection Stations are eligible for funding assistance to purchase child restraint systems for low-income families.

Prior to completing a mini-grant contract every state, county, community, law enforcement agency, organization, etc. eligible to apply and receive federal funding must read and comply with the guidelines of the Policies, Procedures, and Grant Contract Application document.
Click to download the “Grant Contract Proposal Guide and Policies and Procedures.”

• Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Guidelines
• Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Application
• Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Certification and Assurances Form
• Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Inventory Status Report
• Child Restraint Systems Mini-Grant Contract Application and Award
• The above documents contain interactive form fields.
• Inspection Station Monthly Activity Log

Differences between what is Legal and what is Recommended.

Parents and other caregivers frequently ask the question “what is the law regarding buckling up my child?” Most parents and caregivers assume that the law is the safest and is what is recommended by safety experts. This, however, is not always the case. The Nebraska child passenger safety and safety belt laws, like other states’ restraint laws, are the result of compromises between the “best practice” recommendations of safety experts and provisions that the legislators feel are practical, enforceable, and will be tolerated by the general public and their own constituents.

Occupant restraint laws can be considered to be minimum standards. The two biggest differences between what is legal vs. what is recommended are:

1.  The laws are based on age whereas “best practice” recommendations for the best crash protection are based mostly on weight and physical development, and that

2.  None of these laws require that all occupants be buckled up at all times in all seating positions.

Parents and caregivers can be assured that if they are following best practice guidelines and recommendations for restraining children, it WILL be legal as well.

Important Safety Reminders

Best Practice” recommendations for providing maximum protection for an infant, child, or adult can be found on the Safe Kids Nebraska website. For additional information on restraining children past age five Click here.

Putting a child’s safety seat into a vehicle can be very confusing. Doing it properly is important for your child’s safety! For tips on proper installation click on any of these links to external websites:

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• BoosterSeat.gov
• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (multimedia site with videos)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Safe Kids Worldwide
• SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.
• CarSeatData
• Special Needs Transportation: Indiana School of Medicine

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• Child Safety Seat Manufacturers

• Vehicle Manufacturers

• Upcoming Car Seat Check-Up Events

Check-Up Events are set up in public areas, such as shopping center parking lots. Checks are conducted for a set period of time (usually 3-4 hours). Parents and caregivers bring their child’s safety seat, motor vehicle, and child to the event. Trained personnel (Technicians) perform an evaluation for all children in the vehicle who are under 13 years old. They will check for:

• Correct selection (is the seat the correct size for the child),
• Harnessing (is the child correctly secured in the seat),
• Installation (is the seat correctly installed in the vehicle),
• And recalls (is there a manufacturing defect with the seat).

To find out when the next event will be held in your area, visit the Nebraska Safe Kid’s website and click on “Calendar of Events.”

Safe Kids Nebraska Toll-Free Phone Number: 1-800-745-9311

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age from 3 to 14 years old  (2007). In the United States, an average of 4 children 0-14 years old were killed and 490 were injured every day in the United States in motor vehicle crashes during 2009. (Source: NHTSA 2009)

Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers in passenger cars. (Source: NHTSA 2009)

 NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts: 

• Children - 2007, 2008, 2009
• Child Restraint Use in 2006 – Overall Results

During 2010 on Nebraska roadways:

• 2 children ages 0-4 were killed and 337 children were injured;
• 1 child between the age of 5-9 was killed and 489 children were injured; and
• 8 children ages 10-14 were killed and 606 children were injured.

Child safety seat use is surveyed annually through observations conducted in rural and urban counties in Nebraska. Among the children observed in the 2011 study, 95.1% were riding in child safety seats/booster seats. This rate is comparable to the rates for the last few years (91.5% in 2010; 95.1% in 2009; and 96.8% in 2008).  These  rates are significantly higher than the rate observed when this series of surveys began in 1999 (56.2%). (NOHS)

Total observed child restraint use in rural counties increased from 90.5% in 2010 to 93.0% in 2011; urban counties from 92.4% in 2010 to 96.0% in 2011.

Link to:

• NE Child Restraint Usage Rate Chart - 1999–2011
• NE Children (Age 0-10) Killed in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes - 1999–2010
• NE Children (Age 0-15) Killed in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes - 1999–2010
• NE Child Restraint Convictions - 1999-2011

In 2011, of the children in safety seat/booster seats, only 2.9% were in the front seat, and 97.1% were in the rear seat of the vehicles observed.  Significantly more children in rural counties were in safety seat/booster seats in the front seat (5.1%) than in urban counties (1.9%).

Of the 4.9% of children not in safety belt/booster seats, 11.5% were observed in the front seats of the vehicles, and 88.5% in the rear seats.  The proportion of children in rural counties riding in the front seat of vehicles not in safety seat/booster seats was 18.2%, and in urban counties 6.7%.

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• Brochures and Posters

• Bucklebear® Lap Puppet

• CPS Training Contacts for Other States

• Recertification Information (link to Safe Kids Worldwide website)