CAR-SEAT INSTALLATION PROBLEMS COST LIVES

You're reasonably intelligent, can read instructions and can figure things out. So why should you have a child-passenger-safety technician check the car seat your child rides in?

Because there are installation problems with about 90 percent of car seats brought to car seat checks, said Sharee Galnore, coordinator of Cape Girardeau Safe Communities.

The main problem with installing car seats is that there are so many mistakes that can be made during the installation, said Galnore, who will be among those checking car seats from 8 a.m. to noon today in the parking garage at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

"Many of the mistakes seem to be minor, but they can make a significant difference in the performance of the child seat," said Galnore, who trains child-passenger-safety technicians.

Mistakes in installation and use of car seats contributed to the deaths of 36 children under age 5 and injuries to another 1,762 children in Missouri last year, Galnore said.

Common mistakes are that belts aren't pulled tight enough, restraint straps aren't positioned correctly, the seat isn't facing the right way, the seat doesn't fit the child or the seat is isn't compatible with the vehicle.

Galnore said she is training more technicians, so she hopes child seat checks will be held on a regular basis in the area. Also, Southeast Missouri Hospital has trained several members of its staff, and they can check seats before infants go home from the hospital.

Galnore will check seats at her office at Safe Communities. Call 335-7908 for an appointment.