Marian Regional Medical Center hosts free car seat safety check at Santa Maria Town Center

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Dignity Health Marian Regional Medical Center brought together a variety of agencies for a free car seat safety check in Santa Maria on Saturday.

It was a team effort from Dignity Health's certified car seat safety technicians, San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, Herencia Indigena, California Highway Patrol of Santa Maria and Santa Maria Police Department.

The event took place in the Town Center parking lot and had six stations for vehicles to pull up and have their car seats checked. Installing a car seat may look easy but there are different things that may go wrong if any piece is in the wrong place.

Technicians say 80% of car seats installed by parents are being used incorrectly and 90% of the car seats check on Saturday did not have on the seat-belt child lock. Seats were checked for weight and height of child, and verification of expiration date.

Certified staff said each manufacturer is different and requires different installations. Reading the manual and having the seat checked by a professional is vital. If parents have questions about their car seats they can contact their local fire station or law enforcement agency to make an appointment with a certified technician.

Herencia Indigina is a local organization that provides Mixteco translators in the Santa Maria Valley. They recently had some of their staff certified in order to better serve parents of Mixteco dialogue. The city of Santa Maria has a large population of Mixteco speakers.

The event was not a carseat give away but some parents did receive new car seats if theirs were found to be expired or not malfunctioned.

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