Three times a month Danbury Police officers help parents install their car seats properly, and instruct parents about keeping their children safe in a car.
The Danbury officers are certified and have seen every child seat there is. A typical car seat today might have a dozen or more possible adjustments and each one is important to protect the passenger.
"This is no good," said Jay Mortara, the community affairs officer, in charge of the program, pointing at a chest clip that had slipped down to a child's waist. Mortara showed the mother where the clip must be to best protect her child. It belongs at the sternum.
One estimate from a national pediatrics association says 90 percent of car seats are improperly installed.
Mortara said in his experience 98 percent of the car seats in Connecticut are installed improperly.
The department lets people know about the service through the Danbury Hospital, Women's Clubs, Danbury Children First and many other organizations. Parents make appointments and each one takes between 20 and 30 minutes.
"A lot of my friends don't even know about this," said Carly Ciaccia, the parent of twins who are about a year and a half old. She wanted to turn the rear-facing seats for her twins forward. She wanted a pro to help.
To set up an appointment, call 203-797-4644. The problem most people have with car seats is they have become too complicated for parents to install themselves.
"The instruction manuals are like 40 pages long and nobody understands them," Mortara said.
Mortara said a properly installed seat will move less than an inch when installed. When Mortara installed one Monday, it didn't move at all.
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