First responders inspect, install child seats in vehicles

First responders from around the area replaced expired child seats for Cape Girardeau residents Friday in the Save-A-Lot parking lot.

In an hour, 10 people had their car seats inspected and replaced, according to Perry County emergency medical technician Amanda Rellergert.

The event was organized by Cape Girardeau Safe Communities program coordinator Lynn Ware. Ware also serves as the Missouri Department of Transportation child-passenger safety liaison for Southeast Missouri, from Ste. Genevieve to the Arkansas border. Child seats expire about every six years, depending on the model of the seat, Ware said.

MoDOT child passenger safety received 90 car seats from the state in 2015. Parents on Women’s Infants and Children assistance can apply for seats. Ware operates out of the Cape Girardeau Police Department central office on Sprigg Street and provides inspections and seat replacements for qualified parents for free.

“Motor vehicle accidents are the No. 1 killer of our children,” Ware said. “Six of 10 car seats are installed incorrectly.”

The Safe Communities Program sponsored a car-seat safety check Friday at Save-A-Lot in Cape Girardeau.Fred Lynch

The child-seat checkup event provided Ware and other local technicians a chance to educate parents on ways to properly use car seats.

“You see all types of stuff because people don’t know,” Ware said. “That’s why we provide a free service.”

Ware said technicians have to stay up-to-date with changing car-seat information. A recent change to National Traffic Safety Administration regulations was child seats need to face the rear of the vehicle for children who are 2 years old and younger. A Gordonville firefighter helped a young mother turn around her new child seat in the back seat of her vehicle for her 18-month-old child. She had him facing forward when she arrived.

Children are supposed to use a child seat through age 4, then use a booster seat until age 8, Ware said.

Ware gave the example of a parent who put his or her infant in the front seat when they were in a hurry. The parent’s car was T-boned, and the child was killed by the air bag. Parents secure often the seat too loosely or too tight; the latter can damage the plastic in the seat and increase the chance the seat can fail during an accident.

“We’ve had a lot of people come in already today where their seats were not properly installed,” Rellergert said.

A Perry County ambulance responded to a roll-over accident a few months ago; the two children in the back seat were uninjured because they were properly positioned and secured in the vehicle, Rellergert said.

“There’s such a great need in our communities to save our young people and educate our parents,” Ware said. “That’s what it’s all about: decreasing fatalities on our nations roadways.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address:

121 S. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.