By Cynthia Silva
The Liberty County Pct. 6 Constable’s Office and the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, an organization that provides passenger safety services statewide, hosted the third annual public car seat checkup event on Tuesday, March 28, at the Santa Fe Administration and Activities Building on CR 3549 in the Colony Ridge community.
At this public event, residents are given the opportunity to ensure their children are properly secured in car seats. Upon arrival, residents are lined up in stations. At the station, a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technician inspects if the car seat is restrained and installed properly. The CPS technician also checks if the car seat is up to date. If it isn’t, a new car seat is provided for free.
“We have many families who are not originally from Texas. They are coming and moving in here. The rules and regulations regarding car seats are completely different. A lot of times, they are not aware. I also think it is a lack of resources that aren’t available. Instead, they have to search for the correct information,” said Rachel Cooney, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service Project Director.
This event also is funded by a Texas Department of Transportation grant. They have fitting stations all around Texas. The Pct. 6 Constable’s Office takes appointments for child passenger safety inspections. The constable’s office is the only fitting station with available car seats in Liberty County.
“Last year, we checked 55 car seats. This year we’ve checked 10 in the first 20 minutes of the event,” said Pct. 6 Constable Zack Harkness.
In total, 24 seats were checked at the event. None arrived safely but all seats, and the children they safeguard, were all properly restrained as they left the event.
