Safe Kids Dauphin County, led by Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital with partners Penn DOT, Pennsylvania State Police and Safe Kids Pennsylvania, provided a certification class for child passenger safety (CPS) training at Colonial Park Fire Company in Lower Paxton Township from Sept. 28 through Oct. 1.
The national standardized child passenger safety technician certification course combines classroom instruction, hands-on work with car seats and vehicles and a community safety seat checkup event, where students demonstrate proper use and installation of child restraints and safety belts. These skills are then taught to each parent or caregiver so that they will have not only gained the knowledge but the confidence to install their child’s car seat or buckle their child properly.
“The field of CPS is continually making technological advances in car seats and vehicles, and this is an opportunity for training technicians to provide guidance to families in the proper selection and installation of their child’s car seat,” said Susan Rzucidlo, Safe Kids Dauphin County coordinator. “It is also an opportunity to create a network of car seat technicians with local resources to provide quality services to the public.”
The training and community check up event, where 21 technicians helped more than 25 local parents learn to properly install their child’s car seats, was made possible through a $3,000 grant from State Farm Insurance.
“We are delighted to support the national child passenger safety certification program and community child passenger safety program,” said Brenda Wagner, a local State Farm agent in Lower Paxton Township. “It is essential that our community learns more about traffic safety and be able to support local technicians in providing guidance to families in our community.” State Farm and coalitions across country provide Child Safety Days in May and September for families to have their car seats inspected by certified technicians.
Safe Kids Dauphin County is one of 600 coalitions across the country providing these trainings as part of the State Farm and Safe Kids USA certification program. The training develops quality oriented technicians. Successful completion of this course certifies the individual as a CPS technician for two years.
Reducing the risk of death
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of children under 14.
“Under PA law, all children under 8 years old must be restrained in an appropriate car seat or booster seat -- whether in the family car, traveling with friends or relatives, or in a rental car or taxi,” Rzucidlo said. “Properly used, a car seat reduces the risk of death by 71 percent for rear-facing infants and 54 percent for forward-facing toddlers; a booster seat reduces the risk of death by 59 percent for children ages 4 to 8.”
Changing cultural attitudes
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 73 percent of all child passenger restraints -- more than 80 percent of car seats and about 40 percent of booster seats -- are used incorrectly. “It’s a parent’s responsibility to make sure a child’s car seat is properly installed and adjusted. We’re here to teach them how,” Rzucidlo said.
Safe Kids Dauphin County provides car seat inspections throughout the year at 3 permanent inspection station sites in the area and at community events. To find a car seat inspection site or certified technician near you, call the injury prevention program at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital 717-531-7233 or visit http://www.usa.safekids.org/. An inspection is free and usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. Bring your child and the owner’s manuals for your vehicle and your car seat.
Safe Kids Dauphin County members partner to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under. Safe Kids Dauphin County is a member of Safe Kids USA, a network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury and was founded in 1994 and is led by Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit http://www.pennstatehershey.org/injuryprevention online.