IDOT and county health dept. to offer free child seat inspections Monday

[June 05, 2009]  The Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety, AAA and the Logan County Department of Public Health urge parents and caregivers to make sure their child safety seats are properly installed in their vehicles. Certified technicians will be available at a "Click It or Ticket" event Monday from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Christian Child Care on Wyatt Avenue to provide free on-site child safety seat inspections. Seats are being provided by IDOT.

"It's the responsibility of every single parent and caregiver out there to make sure their children are safely restrained -- every trip, every time," said Kim Escobedo of the health department. "We are urging everyone to get their child safety seats inspected. When it comes to the safety of a child, there is no room for mistakes."

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, 8,325 lives of children under age 5 have been saved by the proper use of child restraints during the past 30 years. In 2006, an estimated 425 lives among children under 5 were saved by child restraint use. Research shows that child restraints provide the best protection for all children up to age 8; after age 8 and when a child has reached 4 feet, 9 inches tall, safety belts provide the best protection. Illinois law requires child safety seat or booster seat use up to age 8.

For maximum child passenger safety, Escobedo said parents and caregivers should refer to the following "4 Steps for Kids" guidelines, based on age and size, to determine which restraint system is best suited to protect their children:

1. For the best possible protection, keep infants in rear-facing child safety seats in the back seat as long as possible up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds.

2. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds) they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats in the back seat until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds).

3. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds), they should ride in booster seats in the back seat until the vehicle safety belts fit properly. Safety belts fit properly when the lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest (usually at age 8 or when they are 4 feet, 9 inches tall).

4. When children outgrow their booster seats (usually at age 8 or when they are 4 feet, 9 inches tall), they can use the adult safety belts in the back seat if the belts fit properly, that is, when the lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest.

For more information on Click It or Ticket, a national effort to remind parents and caregivers of the lifesaving effect child safety seats have in protecting young children, please visit www.dot.il.gov.

[Text from file received from the Logan County Department of Public Health]