Car Seat Saturday unites safety advocates nationwide

Sept. 24, 2025

By Lauren Macias-Cervantes

EL PASO — TxDOT offers free car seat safety checks all year long, but Saturday — Car Seat Saturday — certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians nationwide will be offering free car seat safety checks.

Every year, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration celebrates Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs this year from Sept. 21-27, 2025.

The annual safety week culminates with National Seat Check Saturday on Sept. 27, a day for parents and caregivers to receive free instruction on how to correctly install and use the right car seats for their children.

In many communities in Texas, technicians will be available to help parents and caregivers determine the right seats for their children and demonstrate how to correctly install and use those seats.

In just 20 to 30 minutes, certified technicians can help ensure each seat is installed correctly, giving caregivers peace of mind when they’re on the road.

In El Paso, regional partners are joining forces in one location to empower families with life-saving car seat education and a multi-agency seat check.

“TxDOT understands that every parent’s top priority is keeping their children safe,” said El Paso District Engineer Tomas Trevino. “That’s why we’re proud to join forces with local agencies across El Paso for the city’s first-ever collaborative National Seat Check Saturday.”

The El Paso Regional Car Seat Partners is a coalition of local agencies committed to “elevating safety from birth to boosters.” It was formed to strengthen communication and collaboration among organizations providing child passenger safety services to families in the greater El Paso area.

“This free event gives parents and caregivers an easy way to have their car seats inspected by certified technicians—ensuring they’re installed correctly and used properly to help prevent injuries and save lives,” Trevino said.

Nearly half of all car seats on the road today are not installed correctly. Between seat belt paths, anchor straps and height/weight limits, even careful parents can make a mistake.

"Vehicle crashes are a leading preventable cause of death for children,” said Carolyn Williams, director of the El Paso Health Car Seat Safety Program. “Hosting an event on National Seat Check Saturday alongside this group demonstrates our shared commitment to increasing child passenger safety awareness and improving safe travel for children in El Paso."

The El Paso event and others can be found online: Find an event near you.

If parents and caregivers are not available for Saturday’s seat check times, but would still like to have their car seats checked, they can find out if a technician is available in their community by visiting SaveMeWithaSeat.org.