Check Car Seat Safety Saturday In Lake Forest

From SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.:

September 19 2019

Lake Forest Celebrates National Seat Check Saturday

What: Safety Seat Checkup marking National Seat Check Saturday

Where: South Orange County Family Resource Center, 22481 Aspan St. Lake Forest CA
92630

When: Saturday, September 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Media opportunities: interviews with safety experts, interviews with parents, photo opportunities (children, safety seats, community, hospital, and law enforcement volunteers) Redondo Beach, CA (September 18, 2016) – SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. is offering parents the opportunity to have their children’s safety seats inspected on National Seat Check Saturday on September 21 between 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The checkup, which is part of Child Passenger Safety Week, will be held at South Orange County Family Resource Center in Lake Forest. Parents and caregivers are advised to make an appointment in advance to secure a spot. Call the Safe Ride Helpline (310-318-5111) and leave a
message to receive a return call.

Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one cause of death and serious injury for children and young adults. Despite this, more than ninety percent of the children who attended safety seat checkups in the Los Angeles area this year were buckled up incorrectly. In 2016, more than 6,631 children under 8 were killed or seriously injured as a result of vehicle crashes in California. Thirty-three percent of children who died were unrestrained.

Teams of nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians and other trained volunteers will inspect each safety seat to make sure it fits the child properly, is correctly secured, and is in the safest possible location in the vehicle. Children ages 8 to 12 will be invited to try the 5-Step Test to learn how to check if they fit properly in the vehicle safety belts or require use of a booster. Tests of more than 12,000 children up to age 13 held by SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. show that half of ten year olds and one quarter of twelve year olds need a booster seat to fit their safety belts properly. Children without boosters are 45% more likely to be injured in a crash. California law requires children to ride in a safety seat or booster, in the back seat, until they are at least eight years old and fit in the belt correctly. Most children need a booster for proper belt fit until they are 10 to 12 years old, depending on their proportions and the design of the vehicle and, to use only the belt legally, it must fit correctly.

SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. recommends that children ride in the back seat, which is 40% safer than the front, until they are old enough to consider learning to drive. Briefings for journalists will be available throughout the event.

This program is made possible with funding from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to the Pomona Police Department. Mission Hospital and South Orange County Family Resource Center are major sponsors. For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week, visit www.nhtsa.gov.

This press release was produced by the SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.. The views expressed here are the author’s own.