Topsham hosts child-passenger safety training, free car-seat check Thursday

Nearly half of car seats and booster seats have misuse errors, and Topsham families will have a free chance Thursday to make sure a child’s seat is installed and harnessed correctly before the busy spring and summer driving season picks up.

The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety brought its child-passenger safety training to Topsham this week, starting Monday, April 27, and running through Thursday. The course focuses on proper car-seat installation and on reducing the chance that a child is hurt in a crash, a public-safety issue the state says is preventable with the right restraint and the right setup.

Erica Davis, the bureau’s highway safety coordinator, said families should have certified technicians check seats to make sure the seat is safe, the child is harnessed correctly, and caregivers understand the basics of safe installation. That matters because buying the right seat is only part of the job. If the seat is loose, buckled incorrectly, or used with the wrong harness settings, it can lose much of the protection it is meant to provide.

The bureau says motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional death for children under 16 in the United States, and it says proper use of child restraints is the most effective way to prevent fatalities. State child-passenger-safety materials say more than three out of four children in child restraints are not properly secured. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also cited a national study in which 46% of car seats and booster seats had misuse errors.

The Topsham training is part of Maine’s standardized child passenger safety technician program, which is based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration certification. That certification lasts for two years and prepares technicians to inspect seats, identify misuse and teach caregivers how to install and use them correctly.

For families in Sagadahoc County, the practical benefit comes Thursday afternoon. A free public car-seat check is set for 1 to 3 p.m. at the Topsham Police Department, 100 Main Street. The department serves a population of about 8,850 people, and Maine officials say the check events are free of charge. They ask attendees to bring the car-seat instructions, the vehicle owner’s manual and, if possible, the child who will use the seat.

Maine also maintains partner inspection locations and car-seat check events statewide, but the Topsham stop gives local parents and caregivers a direct way to catch mistakes before an everyday drive becomes a dangerous one.