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Officers get scoop on car seats
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Georgia Department of Community Health program consultant Carol Bell talks to the law enforcement officers about different types of car seats. - photo by Photo by Mike Riddle
Law enforcement officers from all over the area met Tuesday in Ludowici to learn about car seat regulations and guidelines.
Georgia Department of Community Health program consultant Carol Bell spoke to the group of approximately 40 about different types of car seats and how to use them.
“I know when you’re doing these checks a lot of people are saying, ‘Why aren’t you out there catching the bad guys instead of stopping me?’ But when you have these stops, it’s a good time to communicate to your community about how many more crashes there are than crime cases,” Bell said.
According to the program consultant, there are four ways to properly restraining children in a vehicle, depending on the child’s age and size: rear-facing restraints, forward-facing restraints, booster seats and seat belts.
Bell said it is only required that children younger than 1 year who weigh less than 20 pounds ride in rear-facing car seats; however, officers should recommend children remain in this position even longer because they are five times safer in rear-facing seats than in other restraints.
Allowing a child to ride in a car without a restraint, not having a child buckled up, not securing a child restraint or car seat in the vehicle, putting an infant in a forward-facing restraint and placing a rear-facing seat in front of an active air bag are all examples of gross misuse of restraints, Bell said.
Under the Georgia Child Passenger Safety Law, all children between the ages of 6-17 must be properly restrained by seat belts in all seat positions, and all children younger than 6 must be properly restrained in a federally approved child restraint that is appropriate for the child’s height and weight.
The presentation, which was conducted during the Coastal Area Traffic Enforcement Network’s monthly meeting, was at the Ludowici Church of God. After the session, law enforcement officers enjoyed a meal together.
The network includes all law enforcement agencies in Liberty, Bacon, Brantley, Camden, Charlton, Glynn, McIntosh, Pierce, Tattnall, Ware, Wayne and Long counties.  
The meeting was organized by the Ludowici Police Department, and the meal was provided by the Ludowici Bank.
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