Twenty people signed up and all successfully completed the Child Passenger Safety Technician training course on Friday, March 28, at the MoDOT building west of Gallatin.
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Those successfully completing the certification from Daviess County include Cindy Boles, David Francken, Christopher (Mark) Richards, Kristie Smith and Jackie Nichols. The Daviess County Health Department and MoDOT sponsored the event.
Gallatin Police Chief Mark Richards said the new instructors will be a big help in enabling the general population to learn about child passenger safety.
The child passenger safety technician certification course combined classroom instruction, hands-on work with car seats and vehicles, and a community safety seat checkup. Students demonstrated proper use and installation of child restraints and safety belts. The certified participants are now qualified to inspect car seats for proper installation and teach the public how to install their car seats properly. CPS technicians are certified for two years.
On average about 95% of all car seats are installed incorrectly," said Cathy Zentz, head of the safety council out of Kansas City. She noted that most parents want to keep their children safe when riding in a vehicle. Still, each year thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes because car seats are used incorrectly or not at all, or children are placed in the wrong type of car seat, or children are using regular seat belts at too early an age.
Gallatin Police Chief Mark Richards added that there are many types of car safety seats on the market and the appropriate seat for a child depends on several factors, including age, size, and type of vehicle.
Two officers from the Gallatin Police Department are now certified as Child Passenger Safety Technicians. The Gallatin Police Department and the Daviess County Health Department will serve as inspection (fitting) stations, where parents can have their child restraint systems checked for correct selection, harnessing, and installation. This service will be provided through scheduled appointments.
This training and the seats was funded by a grant called Blue Print for Safety. The goal of blue print for safety is to decrease highway fatalities.