MEXICO – The Child Health Center’s ProtectME program, in conjunction with the Oxford County United Way and the Bureau of Highway Safety, will be offering a child safety seat fitting station from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Nov. 5, at the Mexico Fire Station.

This is an opportunity for parents and those who routinely transport children to have their safety seats inspected for proper installation and appropriateness for both their vehicle and their child.

Certified technician Patricia Valeriani from the Child Health Center said, “One of the most common mistakes seen at our check up events is older children who have been moved into adult seat belts before they are ready.

“It is important that the vehicle seat belt fit properly,” she said. “The lap belt portion of the seat belt should be as low as possible, touching the thighs; the shoulder portion of the belt should cross the shoulder between the neck and arm; and the child should be able to sit all the way back against the vehicle seat with their knees comfortably bent at the edge of the seat.

“If the lap portion of the belt is too high on the abdomen,” she said, “the force of the crash will be transferred to the internal organs and the child is at risk of sustaining internal injuries, commonly known as seat belt syndrome.'”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said fewer than 7 percent of the 20 million U.S. children ages 4 to 8 are riding in booster seats. “That’s a frightening statistic when you consider that more than 500 children in this age group are killed in car accidents each year, and thousands more are injured. Safety experts say many of the deaths and injuries could be prevented by the proper use of booster seats,” the administration said.

Maine law requires that all children who weigh at least 40 pounds but less than 80 or who are less than 8 years of age must be properly secured in a federally approved child seat.

The type of booster seat a child uses depends on the weight and height of the child as well as the design of the vehicle.

“It is important to know that booster seats, which do not have a harness system, should never be used with lap only belts,” Valeriani said. “If you have shoulder and lap belts in your vehicle, backless boosters can be used as long as the child’s head is protected by the back of the vehicle’s seat.”

It should be noted that many vehicles manufactured prior to 1995 have low backs on rear seats with no headrest. When transporting a child in a vehicle with a low back rear seat, they may need to use a high-back booster. One way to evaluate a child’s need is to make sure that the back of the child’s head does not extend above the seat.

Suzanne Cook of the Maine Coalition for Safe Kids said, “When correctly installed and fitted, a child safety seat reduces the need for hospitalization in children ages birth to 4 years by 69 percent, and it decreases the risk of death by 71 percent in infants and 54 percent in ages 1 to 4. However, when mistakes are made in the installation of the seat or the children are improperly restrained, they are not as protected, as they would be if the seat was used correctly.

More information about child passenger safety may be obtained by calling the Child Health Center’s ProtectME Program at 743-7035 in Norway.