GLENDALE, AZ — Car crashes are one of the leading causes of death for kids in America, but proper safety measures could be the difference between life and death for kids in the car.
“Unfortunately, there’s a lot of kids who are injured because they don’t have car seats, or they are not installed safely," Sonya Robinson with State Farm said.
State Farm partnered with Safe Kids Worldwide to inspect hundreds of car seats at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sunday. Safe Kids Worldwide is a nonprofit organization working to reduce unintentional injuries to children.
Members of law enforcement like Glendale traffic officer Brian Schlingman use their expertise to give parents safety tips.
“Some of the biggest issues we have is kids not being fastened in correctly, or the seat not facing in the right direction," Officer Schlingman said. "In some cases kids outgrow the seat and they’re in the wrong kind of seat.”
Officer Schlingman says he began working events like this after going to the scene of a crash early in his career where a newborn baby had died.
“It was a 100% survivable crash had the child been in that seat correctly," He said. "That’s what got me into this program, to save lives. I believe this program saves a lot of lives."
Even safety-conscious moms like Kayle Hager came to get a second opinion. Even though officers did not find any major issues with her car seats, she still was able to learn a few new tips to keep her kids even more safe.
“[I learned about] tying all the groceries down. I didn’t think about if we got in a car accident and a 24 pack of water went flying through the air," Hager said.
Even if you missed the Glendale car seat safety check, you can still schedule your own free car seat safety inspection.