Four out of five car seats are installed incorrectly, according to statistics shared by Safe Kids Athens volunteer Sarah Shelnutt.
"It can be just one thing wrong with the seat," she explained. "Whether it's the strap that needs to be adjusted, or the way that the seat is installed, that small percentage of whatever is wrong with the seat can greatly impact a child's safety in a collision."
Shelnutt and other certified child passenger safety technicians from the organization joined Georgia State Patrol troopers, Oconee County Sheriff's deputies, Athens-Clarke County police officers and Coroner Ed Carson for a free car seat safety check at Chick-fil-A on Epps Bridge Parkway Saturday morning. About a dozen seats were checked during the two-hour event.
Interested in having you child's car seat checked? Appointments can be made by calling the Oconee County Sheriff's Office at 706-769-3945 or the Athens Post of the GSP at 706-552-4439. You can also search the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's online database (http://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm) to locate a child safety seat inspection station near you.
Visit safekidsgeorgia.org/athens to learn more about the organization and its partners.
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