The Drive Safe Hampton Roads Safety Seat Round-Up is Back in February

HAMPTON ROADS — Drive Safe Hampton Roads is teaming up with its community partners to help people “round-up” their old child safety seats and turn them in for a “reward” throughout February.

For more than 35 years, Drive Safe Hampton Roads (DSHR) has joined forces with Walmart, AAA Tidewater Virginia, Hoffman Beverage Co., Waste Management of Virginia, and the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters to collect old, used and potentially unsafe child safety seats during the Child Safety Seat Round-Up program.

The program also serves to educate parents and caregivers about the possible dangers of using car seats past the date recommended by the manufacturer, using secondhand seats, and seats with missing parts or no traceable recall information, according to DSHR.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration, 863 children (aged 0-14) were killed in vehicle crashes in 2021 with 308 of them unrestrained, and there were 8,539 unrestrained injuries for this age group.

The goal for the Round-Up is to convince parents and caregivers to turn in old, used or potentially dangerous safety seats so they are not resold or given to unsuspecting parents or caregivers, DSHR said.

Walmart is providing a $5 Walmart gift card for each seat turned in, with a limit of two rewards per person. Safety seats can be dropped off at Walmart Supercenter select locations or at any of the eleven AAA Tidewater Virginia locations from Feb. 1–29.

All collected safety seats will be recycled by Waste Management of Virginia, Inc., which will also benefit the community by utilizing a “greener” alternative for disposal.

Drop-Off Locations: