Politics & Government
Viewfinder: 'Seat Saturday' in Lilburn
This "Seat Saturday" event came at the end of National Child Passenger Safety Week and was one of thousands of such events across the country that day.
Safe Kids Gwinnett and the City of Lilburn teamed up on Saturday, Sept. 24, to offer free child car seat checks to the general public as part of “Child Passenger Safety Week”.
Safe Kids statistics from previous events show that nearly four out of five children are restrained improperly. Proper installation and use of car seats can potentially reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent. A car seat will only work if it is properly installed and the child is properly restrained.
Several trained technicians from Safe Kids Gwinnett along with Officer Keith Boles, of the Lilburn PD, and Officer Roman Dakare, of the Gwinnett County PD, were on hand to inspect car seats, provide instruction on proper car seat installation, and to provide education about car seat safety.
Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Parents opened up their vehicles and removed their children as part of the inspection. The technicians removed the car seat, inspected the seat, checked the belts and then showed the parents how to install the seat and how to belt their children correctly.
Several families showed up to take advantage of the opportunity to make sure that their children were properly restrained and fitted. During the inspection, two car seats were found defective and were replaced and a child who was not riding properly restrained, was fitted into his new booster seat.
Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A group of teen volunteers from Gwinnett Children’s Shelter/Safe Place helped with children’s games and carried signs to attract people to the inspection. The Gwinnett Citizens Fire Academy Alumni Association and SafetySmart Lilburn also pitched in to help with activities. Tania Diaz, Coalition Coordinator for Safe Kids Gwinnett and Lilburn Police Department coordinated the event.
This “Seat Saturday” event came at the end of National Child Passenger Safety Week and was one of thousands of such events across the country that day.
You can always get a car seat check by the Lilburn Police - Thursdays from 1-4 p.m. Call for an appointment at other times: 770-921-2211.
And for more information about Child Car Seats go to www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS.
Safe Kids Gwinnett is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing unintentional injury of children fourteen and under. Please check their website for more information about child safety, www.safekidsgwinnett.org.
