February is safety seat round-up time!

Due to evolving safety measures and the breakdown of materials, car seats have an expiration date. Most Baby Trend car seats expire six years after the manufacture date.

by: Aime-Lynne Perez

Posted: Feb 10, 2023 / 02:11 PM EST

Updated: Feb 10, 2023 / 02:11 PM EST

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) – It’s time for the safety seat round-up! For the past 34 years, Drive Safe Hampton Roads (DSHR) has joined forces with community partners to collect old, used, and potentially unsafe child safety seats for its Child Safety Seat Round-Up program.

This year, DSHR has teamed up with Walmart, AAA Tidewater Virginia, Hoffman Beverage Co., Waste Management of Virginia, and the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters to encourage everyone to “round-up” old child safety seats and turn them in for a reward throughout the month of February.

The goal of the round-up is to prevent the resale of damaged, unsafe, and potentially dangerous safety seats to unsuspecting parents and caregivers. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, in 2020, 42% of the 755 children killed in vehicle crashes were not properly restrained at the time of the accident.

As an incentive to turn in old safety seats, Walmart is providing a $5 Walmart gift card for each seat turned in (limit 2 rewards per person). Safety seats can be dropped off at select Walmart Supercenters or at any AAA Tidewater Virginia until February 28, 2023.

All collected safety seats will be recycled by Waste Management of Virginia, Inc. Not only will these seats eliminate potential danger, but it will also create a greener community.

Virginia law requires all children under the age of eight be properly restrained in an approved Department of Transportation (DOT) child restraint. All children ages eight through seventeen years of age must be properly restrained in a safety belt in any seat of the vehicle. Likewise, all drivers and passengers of all ages must wear a safety belt on any Virginia highway.

For more information, you can visit the official Drive Safe Hampton Roads website or call 757-498-2562.

Round-Up drop off locations

Walmart Supercenters