Venditto holds
car seat demonstration
Years ago the idea of child safety was to pile kids in the back of a station wagon with blankets or if they were old enough to sit shotgun in the front seat, the safety strap was mom’s arm coming across the seat as she stopped suddenly. This turned out not to be the best plan in reducing children’s deaths in an auto crash, so in 1978 the first mandated car safety seat law was enacted in Tennessee and soon other states would follow. New York State has enacted some of the toughest laws regarding child safety transport with car seats and although it has proven that these do save lives, the problem is 90 percent of these lifesaving devices are installed incorrectly.
Legislator Michael Venditto, a new dad himself, recently held a car safety seat instruction at Ellsworth Park with Traffic Safety Educator Chris Mistron showing parents and grandparents how to properly install the car seat. Venditto commented on the program, “Obviously there is nothing more precious than our children here in the community. This is our second time doing this program so residents can bring their already installed car seats checked and make sure they are installed properly or they can bring their car seats that they just purchased and have our traffic safety expert Chris Mistron do the installation for them. Six months ago I was here myself with two vehicles and had both car seats installed and very thankful for it. Officials like Mr. Mistron do such a great job in making sure our children stay safe in vehicles.
Venditto admitted that the process was not an easy one for him. “Believe it or not the process is not so simple as just belting it in. It’s actually much more complicated so while residents may think their seats are safely installed it is always a good idea to double check their work and we will continue to host these safety checks”
Shawnee Warfield was there with her infant son and mother Cheryl Green. Warfield who also has a 5-year-old explained why she returned. “This program is excellent. I came here last year and the way that they secured the car seat and showed us how to balance it out, it is something that the manual doesn’t show. When you see it firsthand it’s helpful.” Green concurred, “I take the children back and forth and I want to make sure that the children are safe. This is an excellent program and I take advantage any time I see it.” When asked if she thought all of this was overkill she disagreed. “With all of the distractions on the road now, especially with the young people texting and smoking, I just want to make sure the child is safe.”
Farmingdale’s Bonnie Kerr, a grandmother of a 2-year-old, discussed what she learned today.
“I learned a tremendous amount, how important the safety of the car seat is in the car. I feel so much safer, relieved and grateful that I had this opportunity. This is an excellent program and I called three other people up to come and take advantage of it.”
I you missed the event you can always call to set up an appointment at the Nassau County Traffic Safety located at 170 Cantiague Rock Rd. in Hicksville. Appointments are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from noon-2:30 p.m. For more information, please call 516-571-9664.
