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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Date:
December 17, 2002
Contact: Mark Armstrong
Phone: 978-454-2113
Car Seats Huge
Success at Dracut Fire Dept
The December
11 Child Passenger Safety Checkpoint at Dracut Fire Headquarters was hugely
successful. Concerned parents and grandparents from Dracut, Lowell, Tyngsboro
and other surrounding towns came to have their children’s car seats
professionally installed. In the span of four hours 75 car seats were correctly
installed. Fifteen of those installations involved the swapping of bad car seats
for good ones. Every one of the 75 car seats that came into the firehouse had
some error in its installation done by the owner.
Common problems
found were a lack of understanding about how seatbelts work to hold car seats,
after market products like ratchets used on seatbelts, car seat components being
altered by the owner, using car seats that are too old or that have been
recalled, and using the wrong seat for the child. All of the attendees were
grateful to learn the following tips:
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Car seats are
rated according to the child’s weight. The ranges are usually 5 to 20 lbs and
1 year old for rear facing seats, 20 to 40 lbs for forward facing seats and 40
to 80 (sometimes 100) lbs for booster seats. Use the right seat for your
child. |
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Car seats that
have been recalled should not be used. Submit the user registration card to
the manufacturer to be notified in the event of a recall. Owners can also
check for recalls at www.nhtsa.com.
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Car seats more
than six years old should not be used. |
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Every seatbelt
used to secure a car seat should be in the locked mode. How the various types
of seatbelts work is usually a shocking surprise to most people. The owner’s
manual for the vehicle will describe its particular seatbelts. |
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The only
components that should be used are those that come with the car seat when it
is new. Products bought separately from the seat have not been crash tested
with the seat and cannot be trusted. |
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Car seat owners
should not sew extensions to shoulder harness, create their own tether strap
anchors, or otherwise alter the car seat installation from its original
design. |
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Never use a car
seat that was involved in a car crash, even if no one was in it at the time.
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Never buy a used
car seat. You should always be the original owner of the seat. |
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Keep your car
clean. Loose objects like books, tools, hard toys, suction cup sun shades,
safety pinned mirrors, etc become dangerous missiles inside the car during a
crash. Use your trunk, window tint, and soft toys whenever possible.
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Puffy snowsuits
and winter jackets prevent the child from being properly secured in the car
seat. Warm up the car a few minutes earlier. Use blankets over the
shoulder harness of the car seat. Use warm clothing and remove the jacket.
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The shoulder
harness should be snug enough to allow one finger beneath it at the child’s
collarbone. Two fingers are too much. The child will accept this is snug and
not too tight usually within one or two weeks. |
People left
knowing their children are safer in the event of a crash. The Child Passenger
Safety Technicians who installed their seats had a very positive impact on the
community. They represented Dracut Fire, Westford Fire and Police,
Massachusetts State Police, Burlington Police, Marblehead Police, Bedford Fire
and Police, Boxborough Police, Needham Police, Danvers Fire, Lowell Police,
Methuen Police, Lawrence General Hospital, and Medford Police.
Special thanks go
to the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau, Dracut Firefighter’s Union, Good Olde
Yum Yum, and Lenzi’s Catering.
Car seats are
still installed at the Dracut Fire Department by appointment by calling
978-454-2113.
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