Hi!
This is Tim McCool. I’m a Traffic Safety Specialist with the Kansas Traffic
Safety Resource Office. We contract with KDOT to do traffic safety education
across Kansas. If some of you recognize my name, you might remember me from
when I was a Trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol. I retired three years ago
to work for KTSRO. My main job is to travel around the state and instruct
classes for people to become certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, and
then be a CPS resource for these people. These are the people in your
communities who can work with parents and caregivers and instruct them on how
to use and install child safety seats into their vehicles correctly.
Did
you know that, nationally, between 74% and 90% of all car seats are installed
incorrectly? Well I didn’t either until I went through this same course back in
1999. Going into this four-day class I was a parent of two children, and
thought to myself “I’ve got kids, I put them in car seats! What can they
possibly teach me about car seats???” Well, I was in for one eye-opening class!
As a Trooper, I was familiar with how seat belts worked to hold people in their
seats during a crash. That’s a good thing!
People
are always safer riding a crash out safely restrained in their seat in the car.
But did you know that child safety seats have to be locked into the car in
order to hold a car seat from moving around just while you drive down the road?
I didn’t, but it makes sense doesn’t it! Makes me wonder how my kids survived
their childhood. It’s always good to have some curve in your learning curve!
Needless to say, I really put my brain to work for the next several days and
learned as much as I could about car seats and how they need to be installed in
vehicles.
And
since that time, I and about 500 to 600 other people here in Kansas, have
dedicated themselves to trying to make kids safer as they ride in vehicles. As
adults, it is our responsibility to keep our kids as safe as we can. Nobody
ever leaves home planning to have a car crash, but they do happen, more than
what we in law enforcement would like to see. And if you can make use of a
local Child Passenger Safety Technician to check and see if you installed your
car seat correctly, why wouldn’t you?
Our
job as CPS Techs isn’t to make fun of you or point out any mistakes you may
have made putting in that car seat. Our job is to work with you as a parent or
caregiver and educate you as to how your car seat can be installed in your
vehicle as safely as it can possibly be. Can it be confusing….you bet! There
are hundreds of car seats on the market and hundreds of different vehicles they
can be installed in. It’s our job as CPS Techs to make it less confusing and
try to explain anything you don’t understand. We keep track of all the new
technology and best practices recommended by the experts in the field. And if
we don’t know the answer to a question you have, we will tell you that and then
contact one of our resources to find the answer you are looking for.
Child
Passenger Safety is an ongoing learning experience because it’s a constantly
changing field. Someone is always trying to build a better car seat or trying
to make it easier to lock a car seat into the vehicle seat. And as CPS Techs we
have to keep up with all the new information out there. This takes a real
dedication and not everybody is cut out to be a CPS Tech.
So,
if you have a question about a car seat that you, your family, or a friend is
using, please contact a local CPS Technician and set up an appointment to come
in and talk to us. If you don’t know of a local program please feel free to use
the following link to find a CPS Tech in your area: http://www.ktsro.org/child-passenger-safety#station.
Children
are our most precious resource. Let’s all work together to help keep Kansas
kids safe!
Child safety in vehicles has come SO far since we were kids! It is great to have dedicated and caring professionals like you training people to properly use care seats. Thanks for sharing your knowledge to keep kids safe in Kansas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words Karen!
ReplyDeleteTim, you are doing a great service for parents and grandparents; and the kids who ride with them. Thanks for providing information to keep our Kansas kids safe while riding in a vehicle.
ReplyDeleteThe local programs are great and the techs are very helpful, especially when installing one for the first time! Thank you.
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