Car Seat safety

GULF COAST - Please join us this Wednesday for our Car Seat Safety Event! Licensed inspectors will be here, at the Fox 10 Studios (1501 Satchel Paige Drive, next to Hank Aaron Stadium in Mobile), to help make sure your little ones are safe in the car. Just pull your car into our front parking lot, and inspectors will help you find and fix any problems. It's a free event!

It's always good to be safe! We hope to see you here on Wednesday morning!

Statistics
Did you know that 99 percent of us are making a big mistake when it comes to our kid's safety? Statistics show that many of our kids are riding around in car seats that are not safe because they are not installed properly. It's a scary thought.

Putting in a car seat is not as easy as it may seem. Sergeant Leroy Smith, with the Saraland Police Department, is a Licensed Car Seat Inspector. He says the first thing we need to do is read the car seat manual and our car's manual. Each has vital information.

Then, we need to look at the seat belts in our car. This is where most Moms make mistakes. Sargent Smith says, "all seat belts -- or the majority of them in vehicles now -- are either emergency locking, automatic locking or a combination, which means they are switch-able. The only way you'll know, is if you pull the belt all the way out and see if it starts racheting. If it doesn't, what we would have to do is put a locking clip on it."

Here are some other things to think about when you install your child's car seat:

• Make sure the car seat you have complies with the federal motor vehicle safety standards.
• Don't use a car seat: If the labels on it are curling. Because that means it's been exposed to a whole lot of heat, which is not a good thing.
• Don't use it if you don't know its history.
• Make sure it's in good condition, and not older than six years old.
• If it's been involved in an accident where the car had to be towed away, you probably want to look into a new seat.

PLEASE JOIN US!
That's a lot to think about. So, we're going to try to make things easier. We are hosting a Car Seat Installation Day. Sargeant Smith will be at the Fox 10 Studios. He'll look at your car seat, and, help you fix any problems.

So, here are the details! Mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 18th, here at the Fox 10 Studios. Inspectors will be here starting at 7:00 am. We'd love to see you, and make sure your car seats are installed the right way so your kids are safe out on the roads.

Please drop me an email if you have any questions at sarah.wall@fox10tv.com .