Child safety seat checks can help avoid a tragedy

By Shannon Sessions

For The Herald

LYNNWOOD — Motor-vehicle crashes are the largest cause of child fatalities in the country, officials say.

But proper child seat safety can reduce the risk of injury or death by 70 percent, they say.

"The tragedy is, parents believe they are doing the right thing, but 80 to 90 percent of the time the seats aren’t installed correctly," said Janet Abbott, Lynnwood crime prevention officer.

Lynnwood police recently certified five technicians to help parents and caregivers make sure their precious cargo is safe.

Technicians are available for free child car seat checks every Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m. at the Lynnwood police station at 19321 44th Ave. W. An appointment is necessary. Checks take up to 45 minutes, and it is best to have the child there, officials said.

Lynnwood police and Snohomish County Fire District 1 are the only agencies that currently have free, ongoing car seat checks in south Snohomish County.

This is also just in time for new state booster seat laws that go into effect July 1, Abbott said.

The law requires children between ages 4 and 6 and/or 40 to 60 pounds to ride in a seat belt adjusting booster seat.

A child this age or size who isn’t restrained properly in a booster seat but is restrained in an adult lap and shoulder belt is more likely to be paralyzed or killed, according to information provided by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

In a booster seat, the seat takes the brunt of the impact, not the youngster’s body.

The new law, known as the Anton Skeen Act, was passed after 4-year-old Anton was thrown from the car his mother was driving to Yakima when he slipped out of a standard lap and shoulder belt.

The new law is in addition to current laws that require infants up to 20 pounds and at least 1-year-old to ride in a rear-facing infant seat. No car seat should be near an activated air bag.

After July 1, $86 citations will be issued when children aren’t restrained in age and size-appropriate car seats.

"The law isn’t what parents should worry about, but instead the safety of their kids," Abbott said.

Shannon Sessions is the editor for the Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace Enterprise Newspapers. Call her at 425-673-6531 or email at sessions@heraldnet.com.