REMSA PROMOTES CHILD CAR SEAT SAFETY AT JUNIOR LEAGUE OF RENO’S FOURTH ANNUAL HEALTHY KIDS FAIR

March 21, 2003 -- REMSA (Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority) and SAFE KIDS Washoe County will host a Point of Impact child safety seat inspection and replacement program this weekend at the Junior League of Reno’s Fourth Annual Healthy Kids Fair. Trained staff and REMSA volunteers will be inspecting child car seats for correct installation and usage to make sure all children of families in our community leave safely.

The checkpoint will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2003 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until full at the south parking lot of Park Lane Mall, near Century movie theaters on Virginia Street in Reno.

According to the National SAFE KIDS campaign, 99% of all children eight years and under are improperly restrained and locally in Washoe County, 98% of children are improperly restrained. The National SAFE KIDS campaign recommends the use of child safety seats until children are 40 pounds and then the use of booster seats until children are 8 years old and 80 pounds. In addition, children ages 2 to 5 who are restrained in adult safety belts are three and a half times more likely to suffer a serious injury and more than four times more likely to suffer a serious head injury, than children of the same ages who are restrained in child safety seats.

REMSA’s Point of Impact child safety seat inspection and replacement program regularly hosts checkpoints where safety seats are inspected for correct installation and usage. Car seats and booster seats found to be unsafe or on a national or manufacturer’s recall list will be removed, destroyed and replaced at reduced costs and/or free of charge to qualifying families. This program is funded in part from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.

For more information about upcoming checkpoints please call 858-KIDS, or click here.

450 Edison Way Reno, Nevada 89502 (775)858-5700 Fax (775)858-5720