A coordinated car seat check up event is being scheduled rain or shine on Thursday June 5th from 2-4 p.m. at Holthaus Autohaus located at 720 W. Oak Street in Fairview, Kansas. This event is being co-hosted by the Brown County Sheriffs office, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Traffic Resource Office, and Holthaus Autohaus.
We are urging parents, grandparents, caregivers or anyone who has children riding in car seats to come to this location to have them checked for any signs of misuse or to properly learn how to install them safely and properly. This is FREE OF CHARGE. This type of event will help those with children learn proper techniques for installation of car seats, proper belt positioning and to identify any issues such as outdated seats, recalls, improper usage or any concerns over the safety of the chid and other occupants while riding in a vehicle.
Car seats can be pretty intimidating and we will have staff on hand to answer any and all questions on car seats, child passenger safety or occupant safety and demonstrate ways that will help keep everyone riding or driving in a vehicle much safer.
This event will complete the training the car seat techs will have attended earlier in the week. Techs are from the Hiawatha hospital, Sac and Fox Tribal police, Hiawatha Police and the Brown County Sheriffs office.
Upon successful completion of the course, every patrol officer of the Brown County Sheriffs office will be a certified car seat technician and can provide immediate assistance and information to families who have small children riding in vehicles. This will greatly enhance our current car seat program and enable all officers to not only be available to provide proper safety tips, but will also be valuable while working accidents and being able to identify any signs of misuse. By having this number of certified techs in our county that will be available to the public at any time, there should be no reason for children to be put at risk due to improper child seat or seat belt usage. This will also enable officers to be aware of improper use while patrolling or interacting with the public and be able to correct issues before an unfortunate incident can occur.
One little known fact about car seats is they have an expiration date. The reason for this is the material they are made out of can eventually break down after long exposure in hot and cold temperatures. When a car seat is left in the vehicle on hot summer days, the temperature can reach well over 140 degrees. The same applies to winter when temperatures can reach well below zero. Just because a car seat looks new and has been well taken care of doesn’t mean it is structurally safe for your child.
Holthaus Autohaus has partnered with us to provide the location for the event, Dr. Pepper has donated pop, and U.S. FOOD has donated hot dogs for the first 250 attending–free of charge. Anyone wishing to discard old or outdated car seats may bring them to the event for disposal.
This is a great opportunity for the public to meet your law enforcement and community partners in safety. We hope to see you there.
