CHP to Inspect Child Safety Seats

The California Highway Patrol will hold a child safety seat inspection at Babies-R-Us in Oxnard on Tuesday to help parents learn how to properly install car seats.

The event is part of the CHP’s weeklong crackdown and education effort to stress the importance of properly using car seats, according to CHP spokesman Dave Webb. About 10 officers will be available between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the store at 2340 N. Rose Ave.

“Last time we did this, 73 people came to learn how to install safety seats,” Webb said. “It’s terrible when you think that 85% don’t install them correctly.”

Webb said he does checkups about three times a week for area parents concerned about their safety seats. He cited complicated instruction manuals and differing seat-belt systems as the primary reasons parents have difficulty.

“It’s not as easy as most people might think,” Webb said.

It takes an officer about 45 minutes to check a seat for defects and show a parent how to properly set one up.

Last year, 38 children under the age of 4 were killed in auto accidents in the state, according to CHP statistics. Eleven were not secured in a safety seat and 15 were improperly secured in their seats. None of the accidents occurred in Ventura County.

The CHP has also set up a hotline, 1-800 TELLCHP, to report motorists driving without properly restrained children. For more information, contact Webb at 654-4571.