Irwin Automotive Group offers help installing child safety seats

LACONIA — Keeping children safe on the road is a top priority for every parent. Unfortunately, in some cars, installing a car seat can seem harder than it should be. 

To recognize National Preparedness Month and National Child Safety Seat Month, the Irwin Automotive Group team of experts will make sure all children’s car seats are installed correctly. The service will only take a few minutes.

There are some cars that make car seat installation a breeze with roomy backseats and an easy-to-access latch system. More automakers are recognizing the importance of the latch system and making sure they work well for families.

Michele Tinson of Hyundai said the automaker significantly improved the latch system’s accessibility with the Santa Fe’s redesign. Jennifer Pelky, a senior engineer at Toyota who worked on the Avalon and Camry redesigns, said both cars’ latch systems were improved along with the overall redesign. “We were able to utilize the redesign of both vehicles to make latch ease-of-use improvements, particularly to the lower anchors,” said Pelky, who is also a certified child passenger safety technician. “The end result... is a latch system that has lower anchors that are very easy to both find and connect to a child restraint.”

Parents and others who transport children in their vehicles should look at vehicles that are designed to fit an infant seat, a rear- and forward-facing convertible seat, and a booster seat.