The main cause of deaths among children under the age of 14 is car crashes.
One reason is that most car seats aren’t properly installed, said Officer Bryant Nowlin of the Lynchburg Police Department. Of the child safety seats check in Lynchburg, some 98 percent are improperly installed, are too old to hold up in a crash, or have been recalled.
“Large or small, we are finding something wrong,” Nowlin said. “The more serious the error, the greater the risk that a child will be killed in a crash.”
Virginia law requires that children under the age of 8 be restrained in an appropriate car seat. The penalty: a $500 fine.
A car crash on Campbell Avenue recently could have been avoided had a child safety seat been properly installed, said Nowlin.
A mother noticed the seat sliding and reached back to stop it when she swerved over the center line and hit another car head on. One of her children was injured in the crash.
Conversely, when officers responded to a crash on Wards Road, they found a van overturned with two children still strapped in their properly installed car seat hanging upside down, uninjured, said Officer Ronnie Sitler.
“Not having a child in a proper child restrain seat is not only illegal, but it is horrendous and irresponsible,” Sitler said. “It takes less than two seconds to put your seat belt on. Why would you not put it on your child?”
Upcoming child safety seat checks:
Saturday, Sept. 13 — Sam’s Club on Wards Road, 9 a.m. to noon
Tuesday, Sept. 16 — Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Day School at 5810 Fort Ave., 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 20 — Wal-Mart parking lot on Wards Road, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 22 — Rivermont Baptist Church at 400 Fauquier St., 3 to 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25 — Elizabeth’s Early Learning Center at 2320 Bedford Ave., 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Child seat checks are also performed by the Lynchburg Police Department, the Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office and the Lynchburg Fire & EMS during regular business hours. For more information, call the police department at (434) 455-6047, the sheriff’s office at (434) 847-1301, or the fire department at (434) 455-6340.
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