Is your child car seat properly installed?
By Jon Yaneff

York Regional Police, in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation and York Region Health Services, held a one-day child car seat inspection clinic at Canada's Wonderland recently.

"We inspected car seats, trying to emphasize the importance of a properly installed car seat," said Sgt. Brad Bulmer. "The law requires for an occupant that is zero to nine kilograms in weight and the seat has to be rear facing. For nine to 18 kilograms the seat has to be forward facing."

"We find that about 90 per cent of all car seats that come through these clinics are not properly installed," he added.

Bulmer said a lot of the car seats aren't new, as people are still buying used ones from garage sales.

"This is not a good idea because they don't come with the original owners manual," said Bulmer. "You also don't know the history of seat, such as if it has been involved in a collision or is it missing parts? It's best to go with a brand new car seat."

When they buy their new seats, people should make sure the restraint system has CMVSS (Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) on the label and comes with up-todate and complete manufacturer's instructions.

Bulmer advised instead of switching car seats between vehicles. People should have two separate car seats to avoid moving one seat back and forth so that it is certain that the seats are properly installed.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation stated the correct use of a child restraint on every trip can prevent 75 per cent of crashrelated deaths and serious injuries to children passengers.

"Injuries to children involving collisions with vehicles are the number 1 cause of injuries to children between the ages of up to nine-years-old," said Bulmer. "Children under the age of 13 should be in the back seat because the further you are away from the impact, the safer the collision would be."

Bulmer said the main purpose of the inspection clinic is to educate people on how to do it themselves and do it properly.

For more information visit the car seat safety link on the York Region Web site (www.york.ca) or the Ministry of Transportation Web site (www.mto.gov.on.ca).