The Town of Crossfield, in partnership with local law enforcement, is hosting a free educational car seat clinic to help parents learn the best way to buckle up their kids to ensure they are cruising safely.
The clinic, which will be held on April 2 at the Crossfield Fire Hall, will cover best practices for various forms of child restraints, including rear and forward-facing car seats, booster seats, and traditional vehicle restraints, or seatbelts.
The clinic will be held in two sessions from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Trevor Stephens, community peace officer for Crossfield, will lead the session as part of his duties to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial statutes, including the Traffic Safety Act, which promotes pedestrian and traffic safety.
“I don’t know a parent that doesn’t put their children above themselves. [The clinic] is all about child safety,” Stephens said.
According to Stephens, if a child’s car seat is not properly installed or a child is not restrained appropriately, the damage incurred in the event of a collision could be just as bad as not having a restraint at all.
He added many residents are not installing their car seats correctly, highlighting the need for a community-wide education initiative.
“When we do enforcement checks and we stop and inspect the seats, if I was to give it a ratio, nine out of ten of them are not installed correctly,” he said. “[During the clinic,] we’re going to spend some time going over the car seats themselves with the instruction manual.
“The vehicle instruction manual has information specific to child restraints and what the vehicle manufacturer’s expectations are for the child restraints.”
He added during the clinic, moderators will help assess whether a child’s seat is compatible with a specific vehicle and/or where the best location for installation would be.
It will also cover specifics such as weight requirements, sizes, and general information.
The clinic will further inform parents as to when they might transition from a rear-facing to a forward-facing car seat, and at what age and weight they might transition to a booster seat, and then to a regular seatbelt.
“We’re all about education with this clinic. We’re not writing any tickets,” Stephens said. “This is a ticket-free zone. We just want to make sure people are educated and that their kids are safe.”
To register your interest in the clinic, Crossfieldians are encouraged to call 403-312-7115.
