Child-seat check by police helps increase safety

photo Georgia Trooper Eric Tallent, left, installs a car seat as 8-year-old Koby Lewis looks on during a demonstration teaching parents about the new safety seat law at the Georgia State Patrol post in LaFayette, Ga., Thursday morning.

IF YOU GOWhat: Car seat checkWhen: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. SaturdayWhere: Bi-Lo, 3901 Dayton Blvd.Why: Certified child passenger seat safety technicians from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and Red Bank Police Department will check to make sure car seats are correctly installed. Police also will be able to make photo IDs and take children's fingerprints for parents to keep in case of emergency.To set up another time to have your child's seat checked, call the sheriff's office at 423-893-3503, option 3. Call Red Bank police at 423-874-0088.

Most parents don't properly install their child's safety seat, according to local officials.

Law enforcement would like to that see change.

This weekend, the Red Bank Police Department and Hamilton County Sheriff's Office will be hosting a child-seat check during National Child Passenger Safety Week to help families make sure seats are securely installed and properly used.

Becky Campbell coordinates the sheriff's Safe Journey program, a grant-funded initiative through the Governor's Highway Safety Office, that focuses on child seat safety. She said about three out of four child safety seats nationwide are not used correctly, citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics.

In the Chattanooga area, she estimates those figures are closer to 90 percent.

"In all honesty, we seldom see one that is installed correctly, used correctly or even being used for the proper child," Campbell said.

Law enforcement officers notice it when they pull over vehicles during traffic stops. They also see the tragic results of improperly installed seats when they work traffic crashes.

"Out of all of them I've ever checked, I've only found one person who had [the seat] in correctly," said Red Bank Staff Sgt. Dan Knight.

Drivers whose children are not properly fastened in a car seat can be cited under child-restraint laws.

Child-restraint devices in cars reduce the chance of death by 71 percent in children, according to statistics.

On Monday, a mother and her two children were hospitalized after she turned in front of another vehicle on Rossville Boulevard. A 12-year-old girl and her 6-year-old brother -- both unrestrained -- were thrown from the car. As of Wednedsay, both were still in critical condition, according to Chattanooga police.

"They're still in ICU because they weren't restrained properly," Knight said.

For car seats, it's recommended that children be placed facing the rear of the vehicle for at least the first two years, Campbell said.

Depending on the child's size, officials encourage the use of a booster seat for children ages of 4 to 12.

"The seat belts are designed for an adult male -- 168 pounds, 5 feet 10 inches tall. And you're going to put a small 4- or 5-year-old in it? It's of course going to be ineffective," Campbell said.

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