Car seat safety checks to begin
Majority of kids are not fastened in safelyBy ANGELA BURCH, Messenger staff writer
Fact Box
If you go
WHAT: Child car seat safety checks
WHERE: Ron's Car Wash, 2524 First Ave. S.
WHEN: Last Tuesday of every month from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
COST: Free
Child car seats can inevitably be the difference between life and death, officials say.
John Copper, child safety seat technician and an emergency medical technician, said a majority of children aren't buckled up correctly.
"In my 10 years of experience checking car seats, we have seen 90 to 95 percent of car seats that are brought into us where there's something wrong with it," Copper said.
Copper, in cooperation with Trinity Regional Medical Center, the Fort Dodge Safe Kids Coalition, and Children and Families of Iowa, will hold free monthly car seat safety checks monthly beginning Tuesday at Ron's Car Wash, 2524 First Ave. S.
"We check everything while the child is in the car seat," he said. "There's a lot more than people realize to check."
The most common mistakes Copper said he notices are the child not being in the seat snug enough, the seat to the car tight enough and the belt not going through the correct path. He has also noticed that parents want to turn their child around too early.
"We like to leave them rear facing as long as possible - it's still the safest way," Copper said.
Children and Families of Iowa in Fort Dodge is joining the seat check operation this year.
"As a part of our mission to restore hope, build futures and change lives, we strive to provide safety for all children," said CFI's Fort Dodge Supervisor Pat Cirks. "Properly inspected car seats are vital to keeping children safe when they travel."
Cirks said CFI is constantly looking for donations of car seats for families in need. With safety concerns in mind, she said the seat needs to be less than seven years old, has never been in an accident and wasn't purchased at a garage sale.
"We at CFI have a constant need to help families get car seats," she said. "Just this week, we've had three different families that we've needed to find car seats for."
For people who have car seats to donate, Copper said to bring them by Ron's Car Wash and they will do a safety inspection before it goes to a family.
Contact Angela Burch at (515) 573-2141 or aburch@messengernews.net
