A free car seat checkup was held at the Lehighton Borough Police Department on Sept. 25 to educate parents on how to properly install a child’s car seat and promote car safety during National Child Passenger Safety week.

The yearly Carbon County event was sponsored by St. Luke’s University Health Network Kids Zone, Lehighton Borough Police Department and Lehigh Valley Health Network. No registration was required, parents were just invited to attend the station along with their child/children.

Traffic Safety Coordinator and Highway Safety Network member Tracy Fox explained the importance of this event.

“We like to make sure that people are aware of the different requirements for car seats because you have rear facing, forward facing, booster seats and high back booster seats, and each one is different so it depends on your child’s height and their weight as to what seat they should be in.”

Some of the things that are examined during the seat checkup are if a parent has the correct car seat, if the seat is expired, if the seat is recalled and if the seat is installed correctly. The people who checked the car seats at the event were certified technicians from St. Luke’s University Health Network, the Highway Safety Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Lehighton police officers from local and state levels.

Fox said, “It’s well worth coming out to have your child’s seat checked just to have the peace of mind that you know you have the right seat and that it’s installed correctly so that when you do have your child in it, they’re gonna be safe.”

For more information about the Highway Safety Network, visit their website at www.patrafficsafety.org.