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Safety Seat Checkup Scheduled at South LA Mall
From
staff reports
TORRANCE – Motor
vehicle crashes still kill more kids than any other cause of death – yet
more than 90 percent of the children who attended safety seat checkups
in the Los Angeles area this year were buckled up incorrectly.
In 2006, 179 child passengers under 15 died in California, and 18,318
were injured, as a result of vehicle crashes. More than 80 percent
of the small children killed would have survived if they had been properly
buckled up.
SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. is offering parents the opportunity to have their
children’s safety seats inspected at a safety seat checkup at
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, 3650 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
on Tuesday July 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (enter parking structure
next to Magic20Johnson Theatres).
Parents and caregivers can call the Safe Ride Helpline, (310) 222-6860
on weekday afternoons to make an advance checkup appointment. Drive-ins
will be taken if there are unused appointment times.
“This is a great opportunity for families to check that their
kids are riding safely,” said SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. Executive
Director Stephanie Tombrello. “Most safety seats are used incorrectly,
but many parents don’t realize that their kids are at risk in
the car. I hope that many local families will come and find out if
their children are well protected.”
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. Older children will be invited to
try a five-step test to find out if they fit properly in the vehicle
safety belts or need a booster.
SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. conducts free safety seat checkups throughout
the year at various locations as a part of a training program for health
and safety professionals. At checkups last year, more than 90 percent
of the seats checked were not safe for the child or needed adjustment.
Even well educated, safety-conscious parents often make unsuspected
mistakes that can result in serious injuries to their children.
California law requires children to ride in a safety seat or booster,
in the back seat, until they are at least six years old or weigh 60
pounds. However, most children need a booster for proper belt fit until
they are at least age 8 to 10, depending on their proportions and the
design of the vehicle. SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. recommends that children
ride in the back seat, which is 40 percent safer than the front, until
they are old enough to drive.
SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. is the national nonprofit organization dedicated
to child passenger safety and was founded in 1980 by fifteen Los Angeles
area safety advocates. The organization is nationally recognized for
technical expertise and program excellence. The checkup is made possible
with funding from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Injury and Violence Prevention Program. For more information, go to
www.carseat.org or call the Safe Ride Helpline: (310) 222-6860 or (800)745-SAFE.
For Spanish: (310) 222-6862 or (800) 747-SANO.
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