Planning a Child Safety Seat Checkup Event

Introduction

According to Hal Karp in an article written for Reader’s Digest, March 1999, “there are more than 100 models of safety seats and more than 300 models of passenger vehicles and a wide range of safety belt systems.” Misuse of child safety seats is estimated to be as high as 90%, due in part to the complex issue of compatibility between vehicle seats, safety belts, and child safety seats. Given that fact, it is essential that parents and care givers know how to correctly install a child safety seat in any vehicle. Conducting a child safety seat checkup event is a popular method of teaching the finer points of child safety seat installation and best practices. A well-organized event can combine the resources and talents of community businesses and individuals for a lively, well-attended educational event.

A checkup event will:

• attract public attention to the issue of child passenger safety
• work one-on-one with families
• share vital information on transporting children safely
• inform participants of the “best practices”

The Child Safety Seat Checkup Event Planning Guide will assist community leaders and child safety seat advocates in planning and hosting an event.

Partnerships

Establishing partnerships with local businesses and organizations will enhance a child safety seat checkup event. Partnerships allow individuals to work together for a common purpose to make more effective and efficient use of their resources. Many civic organizations and agencies express interest in child passenger safety issues. To maximize interest, begin by inviting key players in the community and organizations to a meeting to explain the purpose and value of a child safety seat checkup event. Suggest the following levels of support:

• volunteers
• financial support
• donation of food and drinks
• donation of printing for flyers
• donation of tables and chairs
• donation of trash cans
• donation of free “goodies” to give to attending families

Many child safety seat checkup events are hosted at car dealerships, and dealerships may choose to purchase the child safety seats needed to conduct the checkup event. See Example A for a sample letter to solicit dealership participation. Event partners may include, but are not limited to:

• Law Enforcement
• Fire Departments
• Local Businesses
• Local Public Officials
• Media
• Day Care Centers
• Medical Community
• Local Clergy
• Local Celebrity
• Health Education Partner Organizations

Date, Time, Location

Before adequate planning can take place, set a date, time and location for the checkup event. Consider the following:

• Date: Determine a date. Ideally, plan three months in advance. Saturday is popular with coordinators, participants, and parents; however, a weekday is successful if special consideration is given to time and location.
• Time: Set time for working parents as well as stay-at-home parents if the event is planned for a weekday. For a Saturday, plan 9:00 am–1:00 pm, 10:00 am–2:00 pm, or 11:00 am–3:00 pm. During the week, choose a time later in the afternoon, such as 3:00 pm–7:00 pm. Events are usually conducted in four hour blocks.
• Location: When choosing a location, there are several options to consider:
  • Choose a discount store or a shopping center parking lot on a main street, especially if one or more of the stores carry baby and child care products.
  • Contact local store manager and determine if a special permit or paperwork needs to be completed.
  • Key factors when selecting a location include:
    • restroom facilities for volunteers
    • large parking lot
    • shaded area for all volunteers
    • easy entrance and exit for vehicles

Secure Volunteers

In order to conduct a successful child safety seat checkup event, it is imperative that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) trained, certified technicians are the only individuals who offer technical advice about child safety seats. Planning a child safety seat checkup event requires several volunteers and advocates. It is important to understand the role each volunteer plays on the day of the event. It is suggested that the following people work at the event:

Technician

Technician(s) must have completed the NHTSA technical training on child safety seats and have experience with other child safety seat events.

A technician is responsible for:

• checking safety seats
• teaching parents correct use and installation
• determining which questions need to be referred to the senior checker

Senior Checker (Certified Technician Instructor)

A senior checker must have extensive child passenger safety training and experience. A NHTSA certified technician instructor is best qualified to serve as senior checker.

The senior checker is responsible for:

• obtaining a current safety seat recall list for use by technicians
• briefing all volunteers regarding responsibilities for the event
• explaining the checkup form to all technicians and scribes
• supporting the work of other technicians
• instructing parents on how to install safety seats as needed
• explaining “gray areas” and “best practices” as needed
• following up with parents on issues and questions which are difficult to resolve

See Resource A for information on securing technicians and senior checker.

Checking Team

The ideal checking team includes a technician, a scribe, and an assistant. It is important to have one checking team for each traffic lane where safety seats will be checked. It is recommended that one additional team is available to rotate with other teams to allow for breaks. See Example B for checking team worksheet.

Scribe

Each checking team must have a scribe to record information on a standardized checkup form. The scribe is responsible for:

• securing parent’s signature on checkup form
• checking the recall list
• noting current practices of parents, with assistance of technicians
• recording replacement seat information, if any
• filling out the registration card for a new child safety seat
• recording recommendations
• recording further noteworthy information
• putting extra weight on a child safety seat to assist the technician with installation
• not placing clipboards on vehicles, which can cause scratches to vehicle paint

Assistant

An assistant is useful to the technician and scribe, but not a necessity. The assistant is responsible for:

• looking up car seat instructions
• putting extra weight on a safety seat to assist the technician with installation, if necessary
• retrieving such items as noodles, towels, replacement seats or locking clips
• any type of help requested by the technician or scribe

Additional Volunteers

Volunteers may assist in the following ways:

• greet parents with checkup forms
• distribute educational materials
• direct families to appropriate areas for inspection
• manage the flow of traffic
• assist with management of safety seats—both new seats and seats to be destroyed
• communicate in Spanish with Spanish-speaking families
• sign for the hearing impaired

After coordinating with partners and locating key players for the event, provide all technicians and volunteers with the date, time and location. A letter or fax works well. See Example C for a sample fax to technicians.

Safety Seats

It is essential to have new child safety seats available at the checkup in the event a child safety seat needs to be replaced. The goal is to ensure that all children leave the checkup in the safest situation possible. To achieve this goal, a child safety seat may be replaced due to one of the following reasons:

• on recall list
• involved in a crash
• older than 5 years (in Texas, five years is considered to be the life of a safety seat)
• does not meet weight or height requirements for a child
• unknown history and identifying stickers are missing

Funding

Purchasing a sufficient number of child safety seats may present a challenge. Funding sources or collaboration opportunities may include:

• local hospitals with a distribution program
• local retailers
• automobile dealerships
• local SAFE KIDS coalition

Partners may be the best promoters in soliciting financial support. Although unsafe seats will be replaced free of charge, do not publicize that seats will be given away at the event.

Disposal

Once a child safety seat is replaced due to age, crash involvement, or recall, disposal is essential. There are several ways to accomplish this feat.

• Option One: Host a big media event, and crush the safety seats in a car crusher while explaining why the seats are being destroyed.
• Option Two: Collaborate with a local plastic recycling center. Remove the covers of discarded seats, and cut the harness straps with scissors. Throw away all harness straps at one location and the fabric covers at a second location. The recycling center will accept plastic shells and recycle them.

Either option ensures discarded child safety seats are not reused by anyone else.

Media Coverage

News about the significance of child safety seats and safety belts increasingly makes the headlines as the national focus on air bags and children continues. When pitching the event to the local media, emphasize the unique approach that is being taken to combat the nation’s leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 4 and under. Those who hear about the event via the media will learn that:

• every child’s safety seat must be right for his or her age, size, and weight
• children are safest when they ride buckled up in the back seat in an appropriate safety seat

Several avenues are available to publicize the event including television, radio, newspaper, local businesses, and organizations. The following examples will aid in providing media coverage for the checkup event.

Public Service Announcements (PSAs)

• Contact radio stations in your area and request support using a 30 second public service announcement.
• Sample PSA:
  • Child safety seats work if you use them correctly. Take time to follow the manufacturer’s directions. The time you invest in your child’s safety could save a life. This is Chief/Deputy name inviting all name of town/county residents to attend a free child safety seat checkup event on date at location. Certified child passenger safety technicians will be available to check child safety seats for correct installation. Invest in your child’s safety; buckle everybody on every trip! This has been a safety message from the organization name, your local law enforcement insert name, and this radio station.
• Contact public service directors of local television stations and request support with station identification PSA (a quick announcement that runs when the station does its required station ID twice an hour).
• Check into being a guest on a local television program or a local radio talk show to promote the event.

Traffic Reports and Law Enforcement

• In urban areas, contact traffic reporters in the area and request announcements to support the event during traffic reports the day before and day of the checkup event. Follow up by phone as appropriate.
• If the local police department owns a portable variable message board, request use of the board for the day of the event, and station it near the event location. Suggested message: “Car Seat Checkup Event 1–4 pm today at Heartland Mall.”

Print Media

• Send information about the event to the calendar editor of all newspapers in the area. Follow up as appropriate.
• Send or deliver a media advisory to the assignment editors of all newspapers, radio stations, and television stations in the area. Include all the critical information (who, what, when, where, why) and a contact name and phone number. Request a photographer or a reporter be sent to the event.
• Send a news article to the local paper to run for a week prior to the event. See Example D for a sample news article to promote the event.

Flyers

• Design a simple, attractive flyer announcing the event and containing all the critical information. Ask merchants in the area to post the flyer in their store windows or on customer bulletin boards. See Example E for a sample flyer. See Example F for a flyer distribution list.
• Ask managers of local retail stores and grocery stores, such as Wal-Mart, if flyers may be placed in all shopping carts the week prior to the event.
• Resize the flyer and put it in the local newspaper as a public service announcement.

These are only a few suggestions. There are probably many more avenues to promote the event.

Setting up Location

The ideal set up for the checkup event is to establish several lanes for vehicles to pull into for the safety seat checkup, with each lane the width of two vehicles to insure adequate space to maneuver. Each lane should be assigned a checking team of at least two members, preferably three. The senior checker will oversee all inspection lanes. See Examples G–G(1) for sample traffic flow maps. Cones are ideal to mark the course of the lanes and will assist cars in pulling forward, rather than backing up, when exiting the lane. Signs are important to direct traffic flow.

A registration table is needed for volunteers to sign-in, indicating name, agency, and contact information. Registration information is important for writing thank you letters. A second table is helpful for placement of safety seat instruction booklets, noodles, towels, locking clips, and other materials that technicians may need while working with the parents.

Refreshments for all volunteers is a nice touch. The type and amount of refreshments made available at the event depend on the time of day the event is held. If the event is held over the noon hour, then food for the volunteers is essential. If the event is held in early afternoon to early evening, snacks will suffice. Check with local food venders for donations. Set up for the event may begin about 1 1/2 hours prior to the advertised start time. Plan ahead to set up the course, unpack new child safety seats, register all volunteers, and have the senior checker brief all checking teams and volunteers.

Safety Seat Checkup Form

Upon arrival at the event, a parent must fill out one checkup form for each child. If there are three children in the vehicle, three forms will be filled out. If a child is not in a safety seat but looks under the age of eight, have the parent fill out a form. Make sure the waiver is complete with signature and date. If a potential participant refuses to sign the waiver, he/she will not be eligible to participate in the checkup event. The remainder of the form will be filled in by the technician and the scribe. A checkup form can be obtained from the Passenger Safety Education Office or the National SAFE KIDS organization. It is critical that the scribe fills in all boxes/bubbles on the checkup form completely. Double-check that:

• date and location of the event are fill in
• name of the technician is listed
• all information is documented on the checkup form
• if a replacement seat is given to a family, the make and model of the new seat is recorded
• if a parent elects to transport his/her child in a way contrary to the technician’s advice, document on the checkup form and have the parent initial the statement
• the scribe has filled in all information regarding the current seat being used and how it is being used

Educational Handouts

Education plays a critical role at each child safety checkup. Education takes place during installation of the child safety seat. Educational handouts also support the hands-on training parents/caregivers are receiving. Provide one packet of information to each vehicle. Items for inclusion in the packet are:

• NHTSA tip sheet on correct installation
• safety seat brochures
• coupons for discounts on safety seats
• copy of the occupant protection laws in Texas
• air bag safety materials
• contact name and phone number for additional information

Also, have all the NHTSA tip sheets (nine total) readily available for a team member or technician to use for particular needs. Tip sheets can be obtained from the NHTSA website at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov or by calling the Passenger Safety Education Office at (979) 458-3428.

Reporting

An important part of the event is the record of its success. Upon completion of the child safety seat event, it is critical that all paperwork is filed, registration cards are mailed, media receives a follow-up article, and thank you letters are promptly written.

Traditionally, registration cards and checkup forms are collected from the checking teams. Mail registration cards immediately. If the event is sponsored by a SAFE KIDS coalition, checkup forms must be mailed to the National SAFE KIDS office. The senior checker and technicians must review the forms for completeness prior to mailing the forms. If the event is not sponsored by a SAFE KIDS coalition, keep the forms on file for liability purposes. The checkup forms provide information such as correct use, misuse, number of recall seats, and the number of replacement seats given out to children. These statistics are used for media follow up.

Prepare a write-up to send to the media coordinators previously contacted. Include a photo of the event. A color photo of a technician installing a child safety seat usually works. Use the article to broaden the impact of the message that children are safest when they ride correctly restrained in the rear seat of a vehicle. If newspaper reporters or photographers are present at the event, they may take care of writing the article. Include statistics on the number of child safety seats checked, number of child safety seats given to families, number on recall, and how many child safety seats were correct and incorrect.

Everyone appreciates knowing he/she makes a difference in the lives of others. Send thank you letters to all sponsors, technicians, and volunteers who contributed to the event in any way. Include important information in the letter about the role they played and any statistics from the event. See Example H for a sample thank you letter.

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For more information on securing senior checkers and technicians, and sample handouts and other useful information, please download the Child Safety Seat Checkup Event Planning Guide (PDF).

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