CHEBOYGAN COUNTY — Law enforcement from around the county will be hosting free child car seat inspections, with the first inspection to take place on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the Nunda Township Fire Hall in Wolverine.
The event is presented by the Michigan State Police, Mackinaw City Police Department and Cheboygan County Sheriff's Department and will run from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. at the township fire hall at 12990 Afton Road. The inspections will be done by Cheboygan County Sheriff's Deputy Brenda Nowak.
"There are just so many different car seats and that type of thing and the way they fasten in cars," said Nowak. "It's just to make sure that the seats are properly installed in the vehicle."
Nowak said they also encourage people to bring their children with them to the inspection, so law enforcement can see how the child fits in the seat. They will then go over all of the specifics about the car seats and how to properly and safely install them.
The inspections will cover the anchoring systems for the car seats, how wearing a bulky jacket could effect the safety of the child in the seat and the importance or properly securing the seat.
"Once we explain it to them, then they fasten the seat back in and then the child back in," said Nowak.
Sometimes there are better places in the vehicle for the seats to be placed, depending on its make. Each child seat also has different types of restrictions on how it can be used. The inspections are more for an educational and informational purpose, to make things safer.
Deputy Patrick Charboneau had been the child passenger safety seat technician with the sheriff's department prior to his retirement. Nowak, who has been with the sheriff's department for over 22 years, received her technician certification in August 2017 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through their National Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training Program.
The law enforcement agencies are looking at and considering various check stations throughout the county in the coming year. These checks will also be performed by Officer John House of the Mackinaw City Police Department and Michigan State Police Trooper Corey Hebner of the Gaylord Post.
"We will try to hit different areas," said Nowak. "We'll try to bring it up one time into Cheboygan, one time into Mackinaw, so that some people that have a hard time getting places can still get their seats checked."
There are several rules when it comes to the age a child needs to be and what type of seat they need to be in for riding in a car. When they are two years old and younger, they need to be in a rear facing seat in the back seat of a vehicle. From there, the rules change based on the child's size and age. Most of it depends on where the seatbelt strap comes and sits on the child.
"The size is a big factor," said Nowak.
Due to the amount of information that will be gone over during the inspections, they are expected to take around 45 minutes to one hour. Those who would like to participate are asked to call Nowak and make an appointment by calling 231 627-3155, extension 104.
Depending on the number of participants in this program, the law enforcement will look to possibly expand the hours of the inspections and come up with another location to make it easier for people.
The inspections are free and open to anyone who has a child in a car seat of any kind.