TOPEKA, Kansas (WIBW) – While car seats are designed to protect children in the event of an accident, their safety can be compromised if the car seat is not disposed of after the accident.

Jenny Lancaster of the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office said before throwing a car seat in the trash, there is one important step that should not be overlooked.

“I would say cut the harness and remove all the padding from the car seat,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster added that another preventative measure to prevent others from using a car seat that has already been discarded is to disclose what happened.

“Write with a white marker or correction pen – do not use if it is broken,” Lancaster said. “If you can dispose of these in separate containers, it will help prevent the seat from being found and reused.”

Even if you haven’t been in an accident, Lancaster says car seats don’t last forever – they lose value.

Regardless of the situation, Lancaster said it is better to be safe than sorry.

“Let’s say you have older children who may be crawling over a car seat to get into their seating position – after repeated crawling and bumping, it could always get a little loose,” Lancaster said. “It’s always important to check your car seat regularly and make sure everything is still as tight as it was when it was first installed.”

Click HERE to see a list of child seat testing locations, dates and times.

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