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Child car safety seat check set for Saturday

KEEPING KIDS SAFE — The Casey Johnson State Farm Insurance Agency, Jefferson County Health Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol are sponsoring a child car safety seat inspection from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Ohio Department of Transportation garage, 525 county Road 43, Wintersville. Participating in the planning are, from left, Annette Stewart, health department administrator; State Farm team members Rebecca Blankenship, Katie Rawson, Candy Sutherin, Jessica Friedline, Johnson and Paula Wilson; and Trooper Josh O’Donnell. -- Mark Law

WINTERSVILLE — The Casey Johnson State Farm Insurance Agency, the Jefferson County Health Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol are teaming up to make sure child car safety seats are properly installed.

The inspections will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Ohio Department of Transportation garage, 525 county Road 43.

The child car safety seats will be inspected by a certified technician from the patrol, county health department and TEMS.

Annette Stewart, county health department administrator, said statistics show road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the country. She said three out of four car safety seats are not used or installed correctly, and statistics show, when used correctly, child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent.

“Kids spend a lot of time getting places in the car,” she said. “We’re here to help make sure you have all the information you need to keep your kids safe in the car and on the road.”

Stewart said 723 children ages 12 and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes in 2016, and more than 128,000 children of the same age group were injured in vehicle crashes that year. Of the children in that age group who were killed in a wreck, 35 percent were not restrained, Stewart noted.

Stewart said the most common forms of misuse of child care safety seats are using the wrong seat for the child’s age and weight, loose safety belt attachment to the car seat and loose harness straps on the child. She said most parents believe their child safety seat is correctly installed.

“These misuses increase a child’s risk of injury during a crash,” she said. “The best way to keep your child safe in the car is to use the right car seat in the right way,” Stewart said.

Health department nurses also will be available at the event to administer flu shots for adults and children.

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