WHAT:          Child Safety Seat Check

WHEN:          Saturday, June 24, 2000
                     1:30-4:30 p.m.

WHERE:        The Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) parking lot
                     1970 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio
                     Just off Interstate 70 at the West Broad Street Exit

WHO:    Parents and adults who travel with children

BACKGROUND: On Saturday, the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) is sponsoring a free child safety seat check. Technicians check each seat for proper installation. Each car seat takes an average of 20 minutes to check. No appointments are necessary.

According to the Safe Kids Coalition, between 85 and 95 percent of child safety seats are incorrectly installed. In order for the safety seats to be effective, they must be used correctly. Serious injury to children in a traffic crash is reduced by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers when safety seats are used correctly.

For more information please contact Susan Watiker, Director of Communications, at (614) 466-4344. For more information on Ohio safety issues, be sure to visit ODPS on the World Wide Web at: http://www.state.oh.us/odps.