Free child safety seat clinic set for Saturday

As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, a free child safety seat inspection will be held in Havre on Saturday, Sept. 20.

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will check car seats for proper installation from 1 – 3 p.m. at the Great Northern Fairgrounds, 1676 U.S. Highway 2 West.

During the inspection, technicians will be available to answer questions about choosing the right car seat, when children should graduate to the next car seat and how to install the various types of seats. People should bring their car seat, the vehicle it is used in and the child who uses it to this inspection event.

  The certified technicians do the work in order to avoid injury or death to the students.

According to Owens, certified child passenger safety technicians report that about 75 to 80 percent or four out of five car seats checked are not installed properly.

Those who cannot make it to the inspection on Sept. 20 can contact the permanent car seat inspection station located at the Havre Help Committee/Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line. To find inspection station locations and contact information, go to

http://www.safercar.gov/cpsApp/cps/ak/3/findfitting.htm?q_State=MT&q_Zip=.

Owens urges parents to follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommendation to keep children in their car seat for as long as possible before moving them to the next type of car seat. Data shows that more than 100 children in the 8-14 age group die in crashes each year while riding in the front seat.

  Owens suggests parents register the seat by mailing the manufacturer’s card that came with the car seat or by filling out a simple form on the manufacturer’s website. Another option is available at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/subscriptions/.

Child Passenger Safety Week is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s nationwide effort to make sure all parents and caregivers are properly securing their children from birth through age 12 in the right car restraint (rear facing, forward facing, booster, and seat belt.) The Hill County Buckle Up Montana Coalition and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) sponsor this event.

For more information about the child seat safety inspection, contact Mary Owens at [email protected].