Car Seat Check 03-12-07

HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
TRAFFIC SERVICES SECTION
SERGEANT DEXTER VERIATO
PHONE: 961-2305
MARCH 12, 2007

Officers Kepa Fojas, Brad Feliciano and Tyson Matsumura
inspect a car seat in preparation for a check-up event
on March 17 at Pahoa Marketplace.

MEDIA RELEASE

The state Department of Health and the Hawaii Police Department are working in partnership with GEICO, Pahoa Weed and Seed, Church of the Holy Cross and Neighborhood Place of Puna to sponsor a keiki car seat check at the Pahoa Marketplace on Saturday, March 17, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

The public is invited to let certified car seat technicians check their car seats for proper installation. Ten of them recently attended the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 32-hour certification course in Hilo which qualifies them to inspect child car seats as well as train others in the proper use and installation of those seats.

The event also will feature a drawing for a free booster seat, free juice and cookies, and other giveaways.

A new law that went into effect at the beginning of the year requires that all children under age 8 be restrained in a child seat unless the child is over 4-foot-9 or the vehicle is equipped with lap-only seats in the back. 

Results from a 2006 survey conducted by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning showed a statewide usage rate of 79.86 percent. The Big Island ranked lowest, however, with a 68.7 percent usage rate.

Research on the effectiveness of child car seats in passenger cars indicates a 71 percent reduction in fatal injuries for infants under 1 year and a 54 percent reduction for toddlers, ages 1 through 4.

For more information, please call Jackie Murai, traffic safety coordinator, at 961-8879.  

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