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Highlands Today

National Child Passenger Safety Week

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: September 20, 2008

Little Malia Jones, age 3, died at 2:30 a.m. Thursday, at Tampa General Hospital, following an afternoon crash Sept. 6 on State Road 574, near I-4, in Plant City, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

A news release from Sept. 6 stated she underwent surgery and had been listed in critical condition.

She was one of two innocent children not restrained in their 2002 Dodge Neon, as they plowed broadside into a 2001 Toyota Camry that made an illegal left turn in front of them to get onto I-4. A 5-year-old boy was also taken to Tampa in serious condition.

The driver, who sustained minor injuries, was issued two citations for operating a vehicle without child restraints.

Tragedies like this can be easily averted and the highway patrol wants to urge parents and other caregivers to get their child safety seats inspected as part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 21 - Sept. 27.
Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Chris Miller said crashes involving injuries to young children or death are among the most difficult. Miller is the public information officer for Troop F, covering 10 Florida counties, including Highlands County.

"That's a hard thing to see as a law enforcement officer or as an emergency responder," he said. "It's the kind of thing that sticks with you for a long time."

That's why he feels getting the information out to families with children is so important.

"In support of this initiative, on Sept. 22, we will have a certified technician available at the Early Learning Coalition of Florida's Heartland Inc., (located at 209 N. Ridgewood Drive, in downtown Sebring)," said Miller. "We will provide child safety seat information, educational materials and other resources from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m."

For information, contact Trooper Lucy Papp, occupant restraint specialist, at 239-278-7100 ext. 330. An appointment may be necessary.

"It is the responsibility of every parent and caregiver to make sure their children are safely restrained - every trip, every time," said Ralph Silvas, occupant protection coordinator at the Florida Department of Transportation Safety Office. "We are urging everyone to get their child safety seats inspected."

Research shows child restraints provide the best protection for children up to age 8. After age 8, seat belts provide the best protection, an FHP news release stated.

The Highlands County Health Department has two certified car seat technicians and runs car seat classes two times per month, said Jackie Rawlings, director of the Healthy Start program at the health department.

The health department will have two car seat technicians available to check car seats and answer questions from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Sebring Community Center, located at 355 W. Center Ave., as part of the Autumn Family Festival.

Healthy Start oversees the car seat program. Call 382-7233 for more information.

"From there they will tell them what the days are because they change from month to month," Rawlings said Friday.

No upcoming schedule for classes was available Friday.

"We ask for people to make an appointment because our supply of seats is very limited," said Millie Martin, care coordinator for the Healthy Start program at the Highlands County Health Department.

For WIC and Medicare clients the cost of the two-hour course and seat is $20; all others pay $40 for the course and a seat.

The course is free for people who already have car seats, but want to be sure they've installed them correctly.

Martin said something like 97 percent of car seats are incorrectly installed. Seats need to be properly selected and installed to accommodate a child's age, height and weight.

Martin is also a car seat instructor, certified to teach the car seat technician course. She said people should know the history of a car seat before they buy it.

She recommended that people not buy used or cracked car seats at garage sales or thrift shops, or grab seats from someone's trash heap, because they could have been involved in an accident, because accidents place strains and stresses on the seat, stretching the seat's webbing and harness system.

That could cause the harness or seat to fail in a second crash, leading to tragedy. Seats involved in or damaged in car crashes should be disposed of, Martin said.

Also, those hand-me-down seats that are passed on from one child to the next, year after year, have an expiration date and may no longer be safe to use, she said.

According to Florida Statutes, "Every operator of a motor vehicle, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on roadways, streets or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested federally approved child restraint device."

The term motor vehicle does not include, a motorcycle, moped or bicycle, a truck of more than 5,000 pounds, a farm tractor or implement of husbandry, a bus used to transport persons for compensation, a school bus.

While it is illegal to transport a dog in a pickup truck bed unless it is tied on a leash, it is still legal in Florida to transport people in a truck in a space intended for merchandise.

According to FHP Lt. Miller, a newly enacted Florida law limits that somewhat.

It stated that it is unlawful for any operator of a pickup truck or flatbed truck to permit a minor child who has not reached the age of 18, to ride on limited access roads in the state (such as I-4, I-75, I-95, the Florida Turnpike or other toll roads) to ride unless the minor is safely and legally restrained.

In other words a group could load up occupants in the front cab and pickup bed in Highlands County, get on U.S. 27 and be legally OK, unless it gets on I-4, or some other limited access road.

The FHP has a zero tolerance policy for seat belt and child restraint violations, Miller said.

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