Initial child passenger violation can be waived with safety training
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 19, 2017 5:05 PM
First-time offenders ticketed for child passenger violations have an opportunity to have the ticket waived while getting educated on car safety.
Whether the traffic stop was generated after witnessing a child "bobbing up and down," clearly unrestrained, or another violation where a child safety issue was discovered, Safe Kids Wayne County offers a diversion program in partnership with local law enforcement, says Shelly Willis, Safe Kids coordinator.
Safe Kids is part of the Partnership for Children of Wayne County, where a one-hour class is offered on the third Wednesday of each month. Registration is required and there is a $25 charge.
"When they ticket drivers, they give families this information," she said. "We're in the fourth year of our diversion program, the second year of an actual class format.
"Their option is to pay the ticket or come to the class."
Instead of looking at it as a punishment, though, Mrs. Willis calls it an chance for parents and caregivers to do right by their child.
"We give them child passenger safety information," she said. "It's basically stuff that is not common knowledge for most people."
The classroom atmosphere features materials, videos and demonstrations. What is missing is judgment, she said.
"We like to give them the benefit of the doubt -- they're there to keep their children safe," she said. "We tell them from the very beginning we're not there to discuss the circumstances of their individual tickets.
"They're there to learn how to keep their children safe from that point forward. We go over basic child passenger safety laws, basic child passenger safety strategies and tips."
The class also explains why child restraints are important, especially in the event of an accident, she said.
"We talk about the three stages of a collision -- collision with another vehicle or object, collision of the person inside the vehicle with other items inside the vehicle and once it stops, the internal collision," she said. "We talk about physics -- when something's in motion, it stays in motion until something stops it."
The session also reinforces the importance of not only installing a car seat correctly but having the appropriate seat for the age and weight of the child.
Oftentimes, potential problems arise from either how the car seat is secured or moving children from the car seat to a booster seat or harness seat too soon.
This whole process can be confusing, Mrs. Willis said -- just as every child is different, so is every vehicle and car seat.
The hope is to provide useful information that will keep little ones safe, while not presuming all adults are knowledgeable about how to do that.
"We have very good parents that come through the program," she said. "They have good questions and a lot of it is they're doing the very best they can and they just made a mistake.
"We hear tons of different stories from the families, and we're not here to judge them. We just are glad that they made the choice to come to the class to keep their children safe from that point forward."
Safe Kids N.C. has been proactive in making this program available in as many counties as possible, Mrs. Willis said.
If feedback is any indication, it has become an effective model.
"More often than not, I have parents that say, 'I did not know it was this important to make sure I follow all of these steps. I thought as long as the clip was clipped on the front, that she was safe. I didn't know that I had to make sure all of these steps were taken to make sure my child was safe,'" she said.
The diversion program is a one-time deal, she explained. But once completed, those in the class are given two things -- documentation that they fulfilled that stipulation and an appointment for a follow-up visit.
"We give them a document just stating that the seat was checked and they met all the requirements of the program and they take that either to the courthouse or to their lawyer if they have one. We don't guarantee (the ticket) will be waived, but I've never heard of one not being waived," she said, adding, "We encourage them to have their own car seat installed, using the tips they learned in class.
"When they come back we check the installation and we go over their individual seats to ensure that they are appropriate for their children."
Safe Kids also regularly offers car seat checks by appointment, and they are free of charge.
For more information, call 919-735-3371, ext. 227.