Police Giving Away Child Safety Seats

Police officers will be giving away child safety seats to Kootenai County residents next week.

The car seat giveaway, sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene police Community Accident Reduction through Education officers, is part of Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week. Car seats will be given away Wednesday.

The program’s goal is to provide seats to families who cannot afford to buy a quality car seat. It is funded by $2,250 in donations from the Coeur d’Alene Police Officers Association, the Coeur d’Alene Rotary and Schedler-Mack Insurance.

Car seats, when used correctly, can reduce the number of fatalities for children under the age of five by 71 percent, C.A.R.E officers said.

A 30 mph crash can rip a 10-pound baby from a seat-belted adult’s arms with a force equivalent to 200 pounds. The child is likely to be crushed between the adult’s body and the windshield or dashboard if the adult is not wearing a seat belt.

Qualified families should contact officer John Kelley at 769-2320 for more information.

, DataTimes