Child Passenger Safety-Car Seat Inspection-Car Seat Safety-Child Car Seat-Car Seats

Car seat safety- is your child properly secured?

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) and its partners are working together to improve car seat safety for children in Ottawa. Every year, staff from OPH and the Ottawa Police Services conduct roadside car seat checks throughout the city. In 2011, these roadside checks revealed that, two out of every three children were not properly secured in their car seat. This is concerning because car crashes are the number one cause of death for children in Canada and one of the leading causes of injury in Ottawa. When children are properly fitted in a car seat, the risk of death or serious injury goes down by almost 75 per cent. It is the law for drivers to make sure that their child is properly secured in a car seat, booster seat or seatbelt.This year, OPH launched the A1 Secure campaign with the goal of giving parents and caregivers access to more car seat inspection clinics as well as practical and easy to remember information on how to properly secure children in car seats. With the help of S.E.A.T.S. for Kids Canada, a local organization that offers free car seat inspection clinics, the number of car seat inspection clinics has doubled.Please follow these three quick steps to make sure your child passenger is secured.Step 1:Armpit level for harness chest clip.Step 2:1 Finger space only between harness straps and the child’s chest. Step 3:Secure child car seat to vehicle according to thechild car seat user guide.For more information on child passenger safety and child car seat installation videos visit www.a1secure.ca To find out where to go to have your child’s car seat inspected visit www.seatsforkidscanada.com or call Ottawa Public Health Information at 613-580-6744 read more..

source:ottawa.ca

Ottawa Paramedic Service-Ottawa Police Service-Child Passengers-Passenger Safety

                  Car seat safety starts with A1Secure and three...

Car seat safety starts with A1Secure and three easy stepsOttawa –Today, Councillor Jan Harder, Board of Health member, Police Chief Charles Bordeleau, and Dr. Isra Levy, Medical Officer of Health launched the A1 Secure campaign. Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) new child passenger safety campaign focuses on teaching parents and caregivers three key steps to increase the safety of their child passengers.

• Armpit level for harness chest clip
• One finger space only between harness straps and the child’s chest
• Secure child car seat to vehicle according to the child car seats user guide

“Following these simple steps doesn’t take a lot of time, but it’s incredibly important,” said Mayor Jim Watson. “Through this campaign we are raising awareness and, together, helping give our young residents the safety they need.” “We all want our children to be safe,” said Councillor Harder. “Learning how to properly install car seats is one simple and tangible thing we can do as parents to make our children safer. I am thrilled to be here today to help draw attention to this important issue.” “A properly used and installed child seat can significantly reduce the chance of a child being hurt or killed in a collision,” said Chief Bordeleau. “This program helps provide some easy tips people can use to keep their child passengers safer.” As a part of National Road Safety Week and the Safer Roads Ottawa program, OPH highlighted its recent work to enhance public education, increase local partnerships, and develop child passenger safety resources. “Motor vehicle collisions are the number one cause of death for children in Canada; however, a properly installed car seat can reduce the risk of serious injury or death, by as much as 74 per cent,” said Dr. Levy. “Unfortunately, our research indicates that most child passengers in Ottawa are not properly secured in vehicles. In 2011, two out of every three child passengers in front-facing and rear-facing child car seats were not properly secured.” The Safer Roads Ottawa program is a leading community partnership between Ottawa Fire Services, Ottawa Paramedic Service, Ottawa Police Service, the Public Works department and Ottawa Public Health. It is committed to preventing or eliminating road deaths and serious injuries for all residents, through culture change, community engagement, and development of a sustainable safe transportation environment. For more information on the A1 Secure campaign and car seat safety videos visit a1secure.ca or call Ottawa Public Health Information 613-580-6744 (TTY: 613-580-9656). You can also connect with OPH on Facebook and Twitter (@ottawahealth). read more..

source:ottawa.ca