MEXICO – The Child Health Center’s River Valley Safe Community Coalition recently held the last outdoor fitting station of the summer.

Shannon Hamner, volunteer and certified child passenger safety technician, said, “Starting in September the monthly fitting station will be held indoors on the first Friday of every month. We will be informing people of our new location and time within the next two weeks. We have been very successful this summer and hope that people will continue to bring their children and vehicles in for child safety seat inspections.”

During the summer certified technicians have inspected 35 child passenger safety seats. With the support of the Child Health Center, the Bureau of Highway Safety, Maine Department of Public Health and United Way, 14 new seats were distributed.

One of the most common issues noted was that many were too old to be in use. Hamner, who is also a Rumford resident, said, “Most manufactures recommend that a child passenger safety seats not be used after six years from date of manufacturing.”

Hamner, who also works for the Maine’s state voucher program, was able to refer several people to that program for new seats which would be more appropriate for their child and vehicle.

Another common occurrence is that people who are transporting children are not aware that a seat must be appropriate for the vehicle as well as the child. For instance, if a vehicle is manufactured before 1995, it may not have headrests in the rear seating position or it may not have both shoulder and lap belts in the outboard position.

In this case a child who is tall but not ready for an adult seat belt because of an improper fit may need a high back booster so that their head is protected. Vehicles have different types of safety belts which are used to strap in the seats. Some systems will lock and hold a seat secure while others will not lock and need a special locking clip to hold them in place.

Anyone having questions about seats or the next fitting station, which will be held in Mexico on Sept. 3, should call 743-7035.

The Child Health Center is a nonprofit organization located in Norway and Auburn with a branch in Dixfield.