Car Seat Inspection Events Planned in Mount Vernon, Hiawatha

By Jeff Raasch, Reporter

Nine-month-old Alivia Sweeney, Center Point, is properly positioned in a high-back booster seat. The positiion of the belts with the adjuster going across her chest is the key to correct positioning with this seat. The photo was taken Monday, June 27, 2005, outside the Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.

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By Liz Blood

Story Created: Sep 14, 2012 at 1:23 PM CDT

Story Updated: Sep 14, 2012 at 1:30 PM CDT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Parents are invited to have their car seats checked in Mount Vernon.

The Linn County Safe Kids Coalition will host a car seat inspection event from 4 to 7 p.m. on Sept. 18 at Lynch Ford and Chevy in Mount Vernon. Certified child passenger technicians will provide free, hands-on help to make sure car seats are installed correctly and are properly restraining the child. No appointment is needed.

Car seats will also be checked, by appointment only, on Oct. 11 and Nov. 8 at the McGrath dealership at 1040 N. Center Point Rd. in Hiawatha.

Seventy-three percent of car seats are not being used correctly, according to Safe Kids Worldwide. Parents can also do an in-home check by making sure the correct seat is being used for the child's age and that it doesn't move more than an inch from side to side.

"Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent," said Shannon Stokesberry, a Cedar Rapids police officer and co-coordinator of the Linn County Safe Kids Coalition. "Engineers are working hard to ensure cars and car seats are designed to keep kids as safe as possible. But it's up to every parent to take full advantage of these innovations by making sure car seats are used and installed correctly."

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