It was a rainy, dreary day, but that didn’t stop a number of parents and caregivers from showing up to see whether their child or children were safely secured in their vehicles.
Madison County Pilot Club members along with Randall Townley, of the Georgia Rural Road Initiative and the Department of Highway Safety checked 23 child safety seats during their annual Child Safety Seat Check Day Sept. 19 at the Ingles parking lot in Hull. Also on hand to assist was Zetta Jones, Department of Child Health, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Injury Prevention Division.
The group replaced 16 seats, which were deemed to be unsafe because of age, being on a recall list, being involved in a prior wreck or the need for a different size, according to Pilot Club members.
Six of the seats were found to be safe, but were in need of correct installation and only one seat was found to be correctly installed.
Seven others asked for help, but were turned away Saturday because of lack of time and car seats for replacement, but Pilot members collected names and numbers for later follow-up.
Those who sponsored replacement seats for the event were Jimmy Boyette (State Farm Insurance Agency), Dennis Burroughs (B&D Seed Company), Bill Fleeman (A Real Estate and Insurance Company), Ken Howard (Howard Insurance Company and Cotton States Agency) and Ches Smith (Ches Smith State Farm Agency).
Others who contributed to the effort included: Jerry Drake (Ingles Supermarket – use of parking lot), Sandra Webb (Keep Madison County Clean and Beautiful – seat disposal) and Sgt. Tommy Williams of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
“We considered this a great success with so many people coming on a rainy, rainy day,” Pilot members stated. “The Pilot Club will be working to sponsor other events in the future as they can be planned.”
“This kind of response today indicates a great need for the Child Safety Seat Check program in the area,” Townley said.
According to reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Georgia Highway Safety Council and the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children from age 2 through 14, and a high percentage of these deaths could be prevented with the proper use of car seats and seat belts.
To find out more information about child safety seats and best practices for using those seats, go to www.usa.safekids.org
