Wednesday, May 5, 2004

Children’s Safety Fair Sat. Unintentional injuries, such as those from motor vehicle crashes, fires, falls, drowning, burns, choking and poisonings are the leading cause of death and injury to children up to 14 years old. Nearly half of these injuries occur during the summer months. Drowning is the greatest summer risk for children under 14. Many of these injuries and deaths can be prevented. Members of the Fayette County Safe Kids Coalition will be at the Peachtree City Wal-Mart for a Children’s Safety Fair Saturday, May 8, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The theme of this year’s fair is “Splash into Safety.” There will be a boating, pool and water display and drowning prevention presentations. The Peachtree City Fire Department Rescue and Dive team will have some of their equipment on display. There will also be a child safety seat check so that parents can bring their child safety seats and have them checked by a trained technicians, who will check each seat for proper use and installation and see if it is under recall. They will also be on hand to help parents be sure the seats are installed properly, since four out of five seats nationwide are installed incorrectly. There will also be a wheel safety area that includes a bike/scooter safety and skills course with a helmet fitting station. Children are encouraged to bring their bikes, scooters and helmets to try out their skills. In addition to displays on other injury prevention topics, there will be displays of law enforcement and fire/rescue equipment, including Hawk-1, the helicopter of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. The Georgia Traffic Injury Prevention Institute will have a rollover simulator demonstrating how seat belts protect vehicle occupants during a crash.