Cottonwood AZ (November 30, 2020) – Verde Valley Fire District was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $10,632 from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) to continue their child car seat safety program. Thanks to GOHS, the District expects to provide approximately 200 child car seats to those in need in the community.
The District’s car seat program provides car seats at no cost to low-income families. Trained car seat technicians install the seats and provide instruction to parents and caregivers about the proper installation. This instruction is also provided, free of charge, to anyone who has a child car seat and needs help to properly install it. Additionally, the District provides free car seat inspections for persons who want to check if they are installing seats correctly.
The Verde Valley Fire District also provides child car seats to Cottonwood Fire & Medical Department and Copper Canyon Fire and Medical District which also have trained technicians. Verde Valley Fire District and its partner agencies strive to provide regular car seat clinics; however, COVID-19 has made it difficult to hold these events. Therefore, if you are in need a child car seat, an installation or inspection, please contact Verde Valley Fire District at (928) 634-2528 or your local fire station to inquire about an appointment.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death among children ages 1 to 19. Over half of all child car seats are incorrectly installed or are the wrong size for the child. To be effective, child car seats need to be the correct size and be correctly installed. Also, children should not be moved out of a child car seat/booster seat to soon! Children should be at least 4’9”, be 8 years or older, and pass the 5-step test below, before they stop using a booster seat.
- Does the shoulder portion of the seat belt lay mid chest, mid shoulder?
- Is the child able to sit with his bottom all the way to the back of the seat?
- Does the child’s knees bend at the edge of the seat with their feet on the floor?
- Is the lap portion of the seat belt across the child’s upper thighs and hips?
- Can the child stay in this position for the whole trip?
If you answer “no” to any one of the questions above, your child still needs a booster seat.
