Community works together for car safety seat checks
HUGHESVILLE - It was a community wide-ranging effort last Wednesday morning at the Hughesville Fire Auditorium when the Hughesville Police Department, Safe Kids Lycoming County, the Hughesville Fire Bank on, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Community Traffic Security Project came together to help parents and grandparents keep their children allowable when riding in a registered vehicle.
According to Chris Smith from the Community Conveyance Safety project who sponsored the program, the American Academy of Pediatrics most recently changed the guidelines and recommendations for car seats. "They now encourage to keep infants and toddlers in rear-facing seats until age 2, or until they reach the highest elevation or weight allowed by the car seat manufacturer," she announced. A while ago the age was one year with or a weight of at least 22 pounds.
New reports party that children under the age of 2 are 75% less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are behind facing. "We find many parents turn the car seats around way too soon," said Tonya Welshans, Followers Health Educator for the Pennsylvania Department of Healthfulness. It is important to read the owner's manual to see if the capacity for is safe and meets the requirements for the child. Parents demand to look at the best fit. Usually the center of the back arse is the safest according to Jason Gill, Hughesville Chief of Patrol who inspected each vehicle closely. Chief Gill is only one of two certified refuge seat technicians in Lycoming County who is trained to line one-on-one with parents, grandparents and guardians. At the end of May, he completed a 4 day training in Hershey to become certified which covers a two year years, he said.