Parents can get child seat checked
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on September 16, 2012 1:50 AM
Seventy-three percent of car seats are being used incorrectly, which puts children greatly at risk, say officials of Safe Kids Wayne County.
Safe Kids and the Partnership for Children of Wayne County will host two car inspection events as part of Child Passenger Safety Week. The first will be held Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Partnership office, 800 N. William St., followed by another Sept. 19 from 2-5 p.m. at the Royall Avenue Fire Department, Station No. 2, 1901 Royall Ave.
Parents are encouraged to bring their car, car seat and child to the event. Certified child passenger safety technicians will be on hand to provide individual help with installation.
"Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death in an automobile accident by as much as 71 percent," said Charity Johnson, Partnership program specialist and Safe Kids Wayne County chapter leader. "Engineers are working hard to ensure cars and car seats are designed to keep kids as safe as possible.
"But it's up to every parent to take full advantage of these innovations by making sure car seats are used and installed correctly."
Five critical, but correctable, mistakes are commonly made when using car seats, Ms. Johnson said. With so many safety features now available in cars as well as car seats, parents are urged to take advantage of the annual safety checkup.
She offered these safety steps every parent should take -- keep the child in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible, ideally until age 2; select the correct seat for the weight, height and age of the child, tightening the harness enough and knowing when to let kids ride in the front seat.