Safety seat day allows children secure ride

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jose L. Leon
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing ground safety office worked with base community members in the Child Development Center parking lot to inspect and install child safety seats May 16, 2013.

The biannual event allows parents to learn the proper installation and use of child safety seats and to also check if their seats were on a recall list.

The inspectors had to attend a four-day class to be certified to check the children's seats.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are the number one killer of children 1 to 12 years old in the United States. With a variety of vehicles and car seats on the market, configuring the seat in place is vital.

"Every car is different," said Tech. Sgt. Wayne Herold, 22nd ARW ground safety technician. "It's not a matter of taking the seatbelt or the anchors, hooking them up and going."

Nearly 20 seats were inspected during the four-hour event.

"If a child is in a safety seat, a child is 100 percent reliant on their parent," said Herold. "It's a matter of taking care of our own people."

Below are tips to see if your child safety seat is properly installed:
  • Check the label on the seat to see the appropriate age, weight and height it is intended for.
  • Keep children in the back seat until they are 13 years old.
  • Rear facing seats should be used until the age of two or until it is outgrown.
  • A properly installed seat should not move more than an inch when shaken.
  • The harness should not have excess slack.
"The use of a properly installed car seat greatly reduces the risk of injury and death in a crash," said Ronda Lusk, Via Christi Hospitals Wichita community health coordinator and car seat inspector. "Everyone in the vehicle has to buckle up each and every ride."

Questions regarding child safety seats should be addressed through user manuals for the vehicle and seat. Additional questions can be directed toward one of eight certified technicians within the 22nd ARW, who can be reached through the safety office at (316) 759-3705.