Most Prince William Parents Have Car Seats Improperly Installed

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Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue has reported that upon checking to see if motorists had properly installed their child's car seat, they found 90 percent of all seats were improperly installed last year.

Fire & Rescue officials, who in 2013 checked over 1,400 car seats at events and public safety stations across the region, warned this places Prince William children at risk of serious injury or even death in the circumstance of a motor vehicle accident.

“Sadly, of the numbers of seats we checked, most of them were incorrectly installed,” Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue Communications Specialist Kim Hylander said.

Fortunately, the Department of Fire and Rescue holds routine safety checks around the region to correct this problem. This weekend, Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue held a Safety Car Seat Check at the Chesterbrook Academy in Woodbridge Aug. 2.

The Department of Fire & Rescue is one of the largest providers of this free service in the Commonwealth. Additionally, all stations employ nationally certified car seat inspectors/educators to assist residents by checking the safety of their child’s car safety seat. According to Bob Wall, Public Education Coordinator for Prince William Government, in 2013, the department checked over 1,400 car seats at events and public safety stations across the region.

Hylander explained that Saturday’s Car Seat Check is a part of this year’s aggressive “campaign to provide this monthly service in Prince William County. In addition to our ongoing efforts to check car seats at our stations, the Department of Fire & Rescue will join with community partners and businesses to provide educational car seat and checkup events at least once a month throughout 2014.”

Additional free events will be held across the county, and the Department of Fire and Rescue plans to release a schedule of future events at a later date.

Residents looking to have their car seats checked at a different location can contact Public Education Coordinator Bob Wall at rwall@pwcgov.org or call their local fire station.

Hylander is also reminding parents to remember to not leave their children in the car as July 31 was Heatstroke Awareness Day.

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