'Fitting stations' check child safety seats

Parents now have three locations in Carson Valley to make sure their child passenger safety seats are properly installed.

Douglas County is one of three "fitting stations" in Nevada with trained personnel available on a weekly basis for parents and others who transport children under 6 to make sure child car seats are safe.

"It's nice to have a choice of three different locations to have this service performed," said Douglas County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Biaggini who has been in charge of the safety seat program since 2000.

Families can have child seats checked or installed at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, 1625 Eighth St., Minden; Paramedic Station 14, 1699 County Road, Minden, and Station 7, 940 Mitch Dr., in the Gardnerville Ranchos.

Biaggini said technicians are available twice a week, but residents are asked to schedule an appointment.

"You just make the call and we'll call back to make a reservation," Biaggini said.

He said new seats are available if necessary.

"We ask for a $45 donation for a new seat, but nobody is turned away," Biaggini said.

He discouraged parents from purchasing used seats at garage sales or even from friends or acquaintances.

"The No. 1 reason is that you don't know the history of that seat, you don't know if it's been recalled or been in an accident," he said.

Biaggini said parents should replace seats that are six years old because the webbing in the belt and the plastic in the seat starts to break down.

"You never know when it's going to get to the breaking point," he said. "If you're involved in a crash, do away with the child's seat even if it looks OK."

The program is financed through a Nevada Office of Traffic Safety grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Since 2000, Biaggini said 1,810 seats have been inspected locally.

"By all criteria, only 28 seats came through in proper condition," he said.

That doesn't include booster seats for older children which Biaggini said are much easier to install.

He said 345 seats were defective and a total of 620 new seats have been provided to parents.

Biaggini said the program gets a boost from the Kiwanis Club which assists with checkpoints and businesses like Walgreens, sponsors of an Aug. 25 inspection.

Biaggini took over the program in 2000, shortly before the birth of his son Michael.

"With the birth of my son, I had a personal interest," he said. "This is a program where we can really make a difference."

Biaggini said Nevada law mandates that children under age 6 or weighing less than 60 pounds be restrained in safety seats.

He said parents should use safety restraint seats until a child weighs 80 pounds or is at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall.

"A child who is too small for a shoulder-lap belt system can slip out from underneath the belt and end up on the floorboard in an accident," he said. "Even though they're safe from the law, they're not safe from the environment."

He emphasized that parents are not fined at the fitting stations for improper seats or noncompliance with the law.

"There is no enforcement action," he said. "This is strictly a safety situation. Our goal is to make sure the child leaves safer than when they came in."

Despite the law and increased awareness, Biaggini said he still sees children unrestrained.

"We don't see as many, but I still see kids out there romping around in the back seat," Biaggini said. "Parents who allow that are really rolling the dice on their child's welfare."

Information is available in English and Spanish.