Car Seat Safety Day a huge success

MOBILE, Ala. - More than 100 children are safer on the roads now. That's because they came to the FOX10 studio for our special Car Seat Inspection Day.

The fact is, 99 percent of kids are at risk in the car, because their car seats are not installed the right way. That's why we here at FOX10 wanted to help.

Nanette Tournay is a mom of two. She wanted to make sure her kids were safe in the car, especially considering her son is using a family car seat.

"(I came) just to make sure that everything is okay. He's a big boy. My daughter used this car seat, she's seven now," she said.

So, Nanette came Wednesday morning to get everything checked out.

FOX10 teamed up with licensed car seat inspectors for a special free Car Seat Safety event. We want to help you keep your kids safe on the roads.

The inspectors worked through the morning, to make sure all the car seats - more than 100 - were installed correctly.

Mike James is a car seat inspector, and is the Alabama State Coordinator. He works as a consultant for car seat manufacturers.

"we're seeing lots of babies that are not snugly secured in the child restraint. We're seeing lots of car seats that are not snugly secured. We're seeing a few recalled seats," James said.

When it comes to putting in car seats, more people do it wrong than actually do it right. So, inspectors recommend starting by reading the manuals.

"there are little nuances, little things. For instance, one car, they didn't realize that they had a feature in the car that would help buckle the car seat in better. We looked in the owner's manual," he added.

The inspectors fixed the problems they found, and they worked with parents and grandparents to prevent problems in the future.

Problems Nanette Tournay now knows about.

"It went well. I wasn't as good as I thought I was with the car seat. There were some mistakes I had made," Nanette said.

When asked if she was glad she came, she said, "Absolutely!" Because this quick - and free - stop may just have saved her kids lives.

If you missed Wednesday's event, don't worry! The inspectors are ready and willing to check your seat for you. Also, if you'd like more information on installing car seats, just click here.