Safe Kids Yuma County will host children's car seat safety event Friday
• Birth to 12 months - The child should ride in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible, usually until age 2.
• 1 to 3 years - The child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until the child reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat's manufacturer. Once the child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, they are ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.
• 4 to 7 years - Keep the child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until the child reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat's manufacturer. Once the child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it's time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.
• 8 to 12 years - Keep the child in a booster seat until the child is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face.
In an effort to reduce the number of children who die in automobile collisions, Safe Kids Yuma County will host a children's car seat safety event Friday.
“You can never predict or control what other drivers might do or how the weather might change the safety of a roadway,” said Ryan Butcher, coordinator of Safe Kids Yuma County.
“The best way to protect your kids is to put them in the right car seats for their age and size and use those seats correctly on every trip, every time. By attending our Safe Kids' car seat event, parents and caregivers can be sure their kids are riding as safely as possible.”
The event will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Target Parking lot of the Yuma Palms Shopping Center. At that time, certified child passenger safety technicians will be on site to ensure car seats are properly installed. Safe Kids will also advise parents and caregivers about how to choose the best car seats for their children.
The event is free to the public and is part of Safe Kids Yuma County's participation in Child Passenger Safety Week, held from Sept. 16 to 22.
Automobile collisions are currently the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 12, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Crash data collected by the NHTSA nationally in 2010 indicated about two children 12 or younger were killed, and 325 injured each day, while they were passengers in motor vehicles.
Safe Kids Yuma County is made up of volunteers from the Yuma County Public Health Services District, Yuma Police Department, Yuma Fire Department, Yuma Regional Medical Center, Quechan Injury Prevention, and other Yuma area agencies.
For more information on car seat safety or other safety topics, visit www.yumasafekids.org.
Chris McDaniel can be reached at cmcdaniel@yumasun.com or 539-6849.
