(COLORADO) — Motor vehicle crashes were the second-leading cause of serious traumatic injuries among patients treated in the Children's Hospital care system last year. Changes to Colorado’s Child Passenger Safety Law will take effect on Jan. 1, updating child car seat requirements. Children under age 2 and weighing less than 40 pounds must be secured in a rear-facing car seat. Booster seats will also be required until at least age 9, and children under 9 must ride in the back seat, if available, as long as all seats are used correctly. "Out of the car seats check that we do, and booster seat checks, about 80 percent of those are used incorrectly in some way," said Amanda Abramczyk-Thill, Injury Prevention and Outreach Specialist for Children's Hospital, Colorado, Colorado Springs. "And that simply means that it's not going to provide that child the protection it's supposed to." Courtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Sean ScottCourtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Sean ScottCourtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Sean ScottCourtesy: FOX21 News Photojournalist Sean Scott Children's Hospital emphasizes that rear-facing seats provide essential support for the head, neck, and spine during front-end collisions, the most common crash type. The hospital also advises that parents remove their child's bulky winter coat so the harness isn't too loose. RELATED STORY: Keeping kids warm in their car seats: Safety tips for winter months Parents can find a directory on the Colorado Department of Transportation's website for child seat inspection stations, where certified technicians can help with hands-on instruction and installation. If children are not with their parents during the instruction, dolls are available for practice. "Our car seat checks are really involved," said Abramczyk-Thill. "We want to really empower that caregiver to know how to use their car seat... correctly and how to harness their child correctly and have them feel really confident that their children are riding safely.