Childrens Hospital Hosts Free Car Seat Safety Check

Ensure that You Have the Correct Car Seat, and that it is Properly Installed

MACON, GA (Friday, September 9, 2016) - In recognition of National Child Passenger Safety Week, September 18-24, Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital - along with GEICO, Walmart and the Middle Georgia Task Enforcement Network of the Governor's Office of Highway Safety - will host a free car seat check for the community. Parents, guardians and other caregivers are encouraged to attend to ensure that they have their car seats properly installed and that the car seat is correct for their child.

The car seat check will take place on Saturday, September 10, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at Walmart, 6020 Harrison Rd. in Macon.

Certified car seat technicians will check each car seat to ensure that it is a proper fit for its child, that there are no recalls on the model, and that the seat is properly installed. If the car seat is an improper fit or has been recalled, Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital, through a partnership with GEICO, will replace the car seat.

"Through car seat checks in the past, we have found that three out of four car seats are not installed correctly. Our hope is that this event will bring the community together so that we will continue to ensure that our children remain safe and injury-free," said Cyndee Jones, Director of General Pediatrics at Atrium Health Navicent Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital.

On July 1, 2011, Georgia established a new child passenger safety law requiring children under the age of eight to be properly secured in the back seat of a motor vehicle in a car seat or booster seat. This law not only increased child restraint requirements for Georgia's children, but also created the need for parents and caregivers to reeducate themselves on how to transport children properly and safely.