MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Most parents would go to any length to prevent injury to their child, and rightfully so. This natural instinct to protect our children should extend to all situations, including car travel.
The Base Safety Center here will sponsor a free child safety seat checkup, July 24 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Marine Corps Exchange parking lot, to help minimize the risk of injury to children in case of a car accident.
With the wide variety of child restraint systems, belt systems and passenger vehicles, however, correctly installing a child restraint system can be challenging.
"Many parents don't understand how to properly install a car seat," said Sgt. Timothy Kemp, the safety noncommissioned officer at the Base Safety Office. "There are many common mistakes that are made during installation, and rather than taking the chance with your child's safety, parents should come and learn the correct methods."
During the inspection, technicians will look for correct seat belt routing and verify the height and weight standards for each seat.
In accordance with Hawaii state law, youngsters traveling in vehicles must be buckled in a child restraint system at all times until they are four years old and 40 pounds. Children must meet both requirements before being taken out of a child restraint system.
Further, safety technicians will review the most recent recall lists to verify that particular car seats have no defects and have not been subject to a recall.
Technicians said they will not install the car seat for parents; instead, they will spend as much time as needed to train parents on how to properly install their child's car seat.
This extra attention, Base Safety hopes, will enable parents to properly install any other car seats they may acquire in the future, without the help of a technician.
"If parents don't take the importance of child safety seats seriously, the ultimate end result could be injury or death," said Kemp.
If families are unable to attend they can call Base Safety at (808) 257-1830 to schedule a free appointment.