Forward facing child passenger safety seats can't move at all to be considered properly installed. (File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Child Safety

Child passenger safety brought up in Saskatchewan

Jun 11, 2019 | 3:41 PM

The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute (SPI) declared June 10 to 16 Child Passenger Safety Week in the province to bring attention to the proper use of child passenger safety seats.

SPI stated 90 per cent of child passenger safety seats are installed incorrectly in Saskatchewan and proper installation reduces the risk of injury or death to children.

Wayne Therres of Melfort Ambulance Care told northeastNOW one of the most common problems of incorrect child passenger seat installation are the seats themselves being too loose.

“It shouldn’t move more than an inch side to side,” Therres said. “If it’s a forward facing seat, it shouldn’t move away from the seat at all. The most common thing after that are the straps that go across your child. What we’re looking at with those is to make sure the strap that goes over top of your child’s shoulder is either at the shoulder level or a little bit below, and there’s only enough room for your finger to fit in between that strap and your child’s collar bone, so it does fit fairly snug when your child is in the seat.”

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For requirements on what kind of seats children should be in, Therress said they should be kept rear facing until they meet the weight and height guidelines, which is typically reached when a child is two years old.

Children should be in forward facing seats until they’re around 40 pounds or four-years-old.

As of June 2014, Saskatchewan law requires children to be in a booster seat until the age of seven or when the child stands 4-9 tall and weighs 80 pounds. Therres said child passenger safety seats shouldn’t be placed in front of an airbag and children shouldn’t sit in the front seat until they’re at least 13.

Melfort Ambulance Care doesn’t have any clinics planned for Child Passenger Safety Week, but car appointments can be made at its base on 310 Division St. W. to ensure child passenger safety seats are correctly installed.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow