FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Police Check Tots in Cars for Belt Usage

Stephanie Solis pulled up to the city’s seat belt checkpoint with her 3 1/2-year-old daughter properly strapped into a child safety seat, earning, as a reward, one of the stuffed bears that Officer Chris Andrews was handing out. Solis’ daughter, Katherine, eagerly clutched the toy.

Solis, 36, of Fountain Valley, didn’t mind that police last week stopped her at the checkpoint on Slater Avenue in front of the Police Department. The checkpoint was held to create more public awareness about laws requiring drivers and passengers to buckle up, police said.

“I think it’s good,” Solis said. “I always thought it was a shame parents don’t put their child in a car seat.”

Officer Debbie Eskridge said traffic officers will be distributing the stuffed animals throughout the summer to children who are correctly placed in safety seats.

The Police Department set up the checkpoint to inform drivers that children must ride in safety seats until they reach 4 years of age and 40 pounds. Officers also offered tips to ensure that children are properly secured in safety seats.

Some motorists who passed through the checkpoint did not have children properly restrained in their cars.

One parent, whose 3-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat of the car next to her car seat, was cited and faces a $250 fine, police said.

While some motorists may not be too happy about getting a ticket, police said safety belts and safety seats save lives.

“I’d rather write the ticket than write the accident report for that dead child,” Andrews said.

Another motorist at the checkpoint had five children in the car, including two children buckled into one front seat--which is also against the law--and a three-year-old boy in a safety belt in the back seat who should have been in a safety seat.

When Officer Herb Poe told the woman of the violation, she said she was unaware of the law.

“Well now I’m informed,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “I didn’t know.”

Stephanie M. Tombrello, executive director of SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. of Inglewood, a nonprofit organization that provides public education about the proper use of safety belts and children’s safety seats, said many motorists are not buckling up children or are not doing it properly.

“The news is the people still haven’t gotten the picture,” said Tombrello, who added that fatalities and injuries of children can be reduced if children ride in properly used safety seats.

“Parents must use the seat correctly and consistently with every ride,” she said.

Tombrello said some common misuses of safety seats include placing an infant facing the front of the car instead of to the rear; having too loose a harness or shoulder belt, and putting harness straps under arms, which could cause serious injury.

Eskridge said the stuffed animal giveaway is part of the department’s program to encourage compliance with the new seat belt law that went into effect in January. Drivers and passengers can be cited--and fined $22 for a first offense--for not wearing a safety belt, she said.

“Now we can use that as the sole reason to pull (a driver) over,” Eskridge said.

The Police Department also plans to post signs throughout the city telling motorists that the seat belt law will be enforced, Poe said.

Signs will also be placed in shopping centers to remind people to wear safety belts.

Child Safety-Seat Tips

* Use a safety seat that meets federal motor vehicle safety standards, including crash-testing.

* Infants up to 1 year old or 20 pounds should be placed facing the rear of the vehicle.

* Rear-facing safety seats for infants under 1 year should be reclined at a 45-degree angle to protect the infant’s head in a crash.

* Place harness snugly on the child’s body before covering with a blanket; don’t put padding underneath child.

* Forward-facing safety seats should be fully upright with all harness points attached.

* Write down safety seat manufacturer, model number and date made in case of a recall.

* Do not use a safety seat that’s been in a crash.

* Seats older than 5 years should be examined for any damage.

Source: SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.