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Child Safety Seats

photograph from Family story



The California Highway Patrol, people who work at a medical center, and a local news station had a special program early one morning. They organized a demonstration in a big parking lot. They showed parents and grandparents how to keep children safe while riding in a car. They showed people how to use children's car seats.

The officers and medical experts showed adults how to properly place a car safety seat in an automobile. A safety seat must be tightly fastened so that it will not move. They gave demonstrations on how to place a child in a safety seat and to use a car's seat belt to lock down a safety seat. The straps of a safety seat must be secure at the shoulder of a child. That way the seat is safe and effective.

People drove in their own cars to the demonstration. They brought their children with them along with their car seats. The experts showed them how to position their car seats properly. The experts also looked at the seats that the parents were using. The parents were told whether their child's seat was safe. The experts looked at the seat to make sure it was not damaged or broken. They also checked to make sure it was not recalled.

Most of the problems that the experts found were resolved. The biggest problem was that the seats were too loose or the straps were too low for the children. The parents were given new seats if their child's seat was damaged or unsafe.

It is a law in California that all children must be in a safety seat or booster seat when they are in a car. A child must be in a safety seat until they are 6 years old or weigh at least 60 pounds. A child can ride in a car with a regular seat belt after they become 7 years old or weigh more than 60 pounds.

Car booster seats have to be used with a car's lap and shoulder belt. A booster seat raises a child so that the vehicle's seat belt can be used correctly.

An adult driving with a child in the car without a safety seat will be fined. They will have to pay a ticket and they will have a mark on their driving record called a point. If a person receives too many points on their driving record they can lose their privilege to drive.


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