Just over 73% of car seats checked in Colorado last year were installed or used incorrectly. Think loose harnesses, seats facing the wrong direction for a child’s age and weight, boosters used too early or abandoned too soon. That number comes straight from Car Seats Colorado, and it’s the reason CDOT, Colorado State Patrol, AAA Colorado, and WeeCycle set up shop at Central Park Recreation Center this past Saturday for a free inspection event ahead of the school year.
But if you missed the event, don't worry! These free checks are still available.
Why this matters
A properly installed car seat isn’t a nice-to-have. Correct restraints reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers. Booster seats lower the risk of serious injury by 45% compared to a seat belt alone. And more than a quarter of infants killed in Colorado crashes in 2024 weren’t restrained at all.
The other piece people miss: kids outgrow seats fast. A seat that fit fine in the spring can be wrong by fall — which is exactly why CDOT times this push to back-to-school season. New backpack, new shoes, new car seat check. It should be part of the routine.
What Colorado's law actually requires
Colorado updated its child passenger safety law as of January 1, 2025, and the age/weight breakdown is worth keeping somewhere you’ll actually find it again:
- Under 2: Rear-facing required in the back seat under 40 lbs. Over 40 lbs, rear- or forward-facing is allowed.
- Ages 2–3: Rear-facing required under 20 lbs; rear- or forward-facing allowed above that, still in the back seat.
- Ages 4–8: Under 40 lbs, rear- or forward-facing car seat. Over 40 lbs, forward-facing seat or booster.
- Ages 9–17: Booster or seat belt, with the shoulder belt crossing the chest (not the neck or face) and the lap belt flat across the thighs, not the stomach.
That last bullet is the one families skip past. A seat belt that crosses a kid’s neck because they’re not tall enough yet isn’t “close enough” — it’s the difference between the belt doing its job in a crash and not.
If you missed Saturday's event, here's what to do instead
You don’t need to wait for the next pop-up event to get this checked. Car Seats Colorado runs a network of permanent inspection stations across the state, staffed by certified technicians, and CarSeatsColorado.com has a lookup tool to find the one closest to you. Most take walk-ins, some by appointment — worth a quick call first.
A few other things worth knowing if you’re a Denver parent (or about to be one):
- Bilingual help is standard, not something you have to ask for. Saturday’s event had English and Spanish-speaking technicians on-site, and that’s typical at Car Seats Colorado stations.
- Can’t afford a seat? WeeCycle, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and SafeKids Colorado Springs all offer assistance programs for families who need one. Ask at your inspection appointment — they can usually point you in the right direction on the spot.
- Have an old seat you don’t need anymore? Don’t just put it out for the trash. Car Seats Colorado runs a recycling program specifically so old seats don’t end up reused past their safety life or in a landfill unnecessarily.
The tie-in I can't help but mention
I spend a lot of my time in neighborhoods like Central Park, Park Hill, and Congress Park with families who have car seats in the back of every vehicle in the driveway. If you’re one of them — or about to be, because you’re house hunting with a growing family in mind — this is the kind of unglamorous errand that’s easy to keep pushing to next week. Put it on the list. It takes twenty minutes and it’s free.
If you’re newer to Denver and don’t know where to start looking for an inspection station, or you want neighborhood recommendations for a family-friendly stretch of the city, that’s a conversation I’m always happy to have.
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