Published: May 15, 2008 02:32 pm            

Buckling Up Baby

For true child safety, it’s seat first

San Marcos — Some little San Marcos residents are feeling more secure today after they received new car safety seats on Tuesday.

Texans in Motion and State Farm Insurance brought volunteers to the Wal-Mart parking lot to inspect and replace un-safe child safety seats.

“What we hope to accomplish is to get as many children that are not riding in a child safety seat that should be riding in a seat in to one,” Shelly Zapp, executive director of Texans in Motion, said.

The organization said a safe car seat, when properly used, can reduce fatal injury by 71 percent in infants under one year of age and 54 percent for children ages one to four.

“It’s extremely important, there are so many children injured every year as a result of motor vehicle crashes. It’s the leading killer for most kids over the age of one,” said Zapp.

Sgt. Fred Wisener of the San Marcos Police Department said child safety seats are “a must.”

“Their skulls are still real soft. Any impact can more severely injure a child than an adult,” Wisener said. “They are more susceptible to a head injury.”

Family vehicles pulled through the inspection zone on Tuesday and allowed certified child passenger safety technicians to fit children for the most secure seat.

“We show them the correct seat to use in their vehicle with their child, we show them how to install it properly in their vehicle and then we show them the last component which is to put the child in the seat,” said Zapp.

If the seat parents brought was not safe, Texans in Motion provided them with a new one for free.

“We have like a bounty program, so if a child is riding in a car seat that is unsafe or too old, we take it out and replace it free of charge,” Zapp said.

She said a lot of people don’t understand how to operate a car seat correctly or don’t put their youngsters in car seats at all.

Angela Hernandez received a new seat for her two-year-old, Paul.

“Our car seat wasn’t safe. It didn’t strap hard enough for him and I figured it wasn’t because he used to get out of it while we were driving and just stand up,” she said. “We were in the process of buying another one.”

Hernandez and several others took advantage of demonstrations on how to install a seat properly.

“Make sure the harness straps are adjusted properly, the harness retainer clip is at armpit level, not up in their neck or down in their stomach and then what we do is we make sure the straps are not too loose,” Zapp said. “A lot of times people think it’s uncomfortable because they wouldn’t want to be restrained snugly, but most kids are okay with it once they get used to it. You don’t want it to pinch an inch.”

She said there is not a specific age for children to grow out of safety seats, but rather a fit.

“What the law states is that when you turn five years of age, you don’t necessarily have to be in a seat, but that’s not the safest way to travel,” Zapp said.

Texans in Motion uses the “fit test.” When the child’s rear is up against the back of the seat, if the child’s knees bend at the edge of the seat, his feet are flat on the floor, the shoulder strap of the seat belt fits across the body without rubbing on his neck and the lab belt sits across his hips, then the child no longer needs a safety seat, said Zapp.

“Most seat belts, the placement is four foot nine inches up on the seat, so it’s for an adult,” she said. “So what we try to do is at least put a child in a booster seat if the seat belt doesn’t fit, so that he can be boosted up and the seat belt won’t get on his neck or across his shoulders. He won’t put it under his arm or behind his back because that can result in severe abdominal injuries.”

By Texas law, any child under five-years-old or 36 inches in height must use a safety seat.

Anyone under the age of 17 must wear a seat belt, no matter what seat they’re sitting in, and adults must wear a seat belt in the front seat according to Texas law, said Wisener.

Texans in Motion covers 11 counties and provides free safety seat events on a regular basis.

To see a schedule of events, visit www.texansinmotion.net.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.