Car Seat Safety Clinic In Beaverton Saturday

BEAVERTON, OR — Beaverton officers on Saturday will host a free child safety seat clinic at the Beaverton Police Department. Working with the Safe Kids Coalition of Washington County, Beaverton police hope to educate parents and proactively do their part to prevent child fatalities as a result of car crashes.

The clinic will be held at 4755 S.W. Griffith Dr. in Beaverton from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Aug. 4. No appointments are necessary for the free clinic, though arriving early is recommended. Each car seat safety check takes about 30 minutes.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car crashes are the leading cause of death for children between 1 and 13 years old in the United States.

In 2015 alone 1,353 kids under 9 years old were injured in Oregon car crashes, Beaverton police spokesman Jeremy Shaw said, noting also that six kids died.

"It's estimated that car seats may increase crash survival by 71 percent for infants under 1 year old, and by up to 59 percent for toddlers ages 1 to 4," Shaw said. "Booster seats may reduce the chance of nonfatal injury among 4- to 8-year-olds by 45 percent compared to safety belts used alone."

For more information on child safety seats, including information specific to age and weight groups, visit the car and booster seat page at NHTSA.gov.

(Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Beaverton Patch)

Image via Shutterstock