FULLERTON : Baby Car-Safety Seats Get a Careful Look

Tina Olson held her 3-year-old daughter, Katie, in her arms while she watched Sheryll Bolton point out problems in her car’s baby seat.

“This seat shouldn’t be able to move,” said Bolton, a public health nurse for the Orange County Health Care Agency. “It shouldn’t jiggle.”

Bolton and two other inspectors from the county’s Buckle Up program checked about a dozen seats at Temple Beth Tikayah Early Childhood Learning Center on Monday. The free inspections were prompted in response to a recent consumer advisory issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The advisory urges parents to have their child car-safety seats inspected for defective parts. There have been more than 800 parts recalled on all types of baby seats, Bolton said.

“We’re checking for recalls, seats facing the wrong direction, broken or missing parts and any other defects that must be corrected for the safety of the child,” Bolton said. “A child could be killed in a car seat if the seat is not properly installed or used.”

Olson said she was thankful for the inspection.

“It’s kind of scary to think something could be wrong with my car seat,” she said. “Thank God we’ve never been in an accident, but who knows--I want my child to be safe.”

Another mother, Cheryl Benner, agreed.

Her car seat was lacking a locking clip to hold the seat tightly in place and was a recall target for its faulty buckle button.

“I didn’t know there were any problems with my car seat,” Benner said, as inspector Shellie Hunt handed her a telephone number to call to request a new buckle button, which is a recall item.

“I’ll be calling the company because I want the button replaced immediately,” Benner said.

Every car seat manufacturer including Fisher-Price, Century, Cosco, Gerry, Evenflo, Graco, International, Playskool and Pride Trimble has recalls and is required to fix problems for free, Bolton said.

She said she has been conducting free inspections in preschools throughout the county for the past three months and will continue to do so in an effort to raise awareness about the problems of car seats and teach people how to properly install and use their car seats.

Car seats are required for all children 4 years old and younger and those who weigh 40 pounds or less. People who are required to seat their children in baby seats but do not could be issued a citation and pay a $271 fine, Bolton said.