Friday, March 19, 2004

Free check of child safety seats offered at Southern Regional

A free car safety seat check for parents will be offered Saturday, March 27, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Women’s Life Center at Southern Regional Hospital in Riverdale.

The event will include demonstrations on how to properly install and check child safety seats. A special simulator will also be on display: a car that rolls over, simulating a violent auto crash, to show what can happen if the child safety seat is improperly installed.

Eight out of 10 car seats on the road are improperly installed, and nearly half of accidents involving children are the direct result of improper safety seat installation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Properly used, child safety seats can reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers.

“Our car safety seat check is a good opportunity for parents to come out and learn the proper precautions when installing a child’s car seat,” said Stephanie McCumber, the hospital’s family resource center coordinator.

In addition to the rollover car demonstration by the Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute, the Safe Kids van will also be at the event. The van is equipped to show the proper way to install car seats and includes information on basic car seat safety.

The event is supported by the Clayton County Police Department and Babies R Us.