An estimated 90 percent of child car seats are not installed properly
MARQUETTE -- Many U.P. organizations and businesses were doing something they've never done on the job before: learning how to properly use a car seat.
An estimated 90 percent of child car seats are not installed properly.
Employees of law enforcment agencies, insurance agencies, health care organizations, and even car dealerships attended child passenger safety classes in Marquette. The goal is for them to spread this knowledge to their clients and customers to decrease the percentage.
Car seat safety begins before the child is buckled in. Car seats should be replaced every six years.
CPS (Child Passenger Safety) Instructor, Diane Curry, says the most common mistakes people make are not installing the car seat tight enough in the car and keeping the harness too loose.
"If the seat is not tight enough, the harness not snug enough, there could be serious injuries involved in that crash, so you know you never know when you're out there on the road, what's going to happen," states Curry.
The four-day session is offered once a year by the Marquette County Health Department.
The group is hosting an event Friday, open to the public, 12 to 4 p.m. at Frei Chevrolet in Marquette to check car seat safety.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC