DAYTON, TENNESSEE – The Rhea County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office and Safe Journey Program will conduct a child passenger safety seat event in the Walmart parking lot located at 3034 Rhea County Highway in Dayton on Wednesday June 20th, 2018 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. noon.

Sheriff’s Department and Safe Journey officials will be on hand to check child safety seats, and make any corrections that may be necessary.

“Child passengers are precious cargo,” said Sheriff Mike Neal. “Too often we’re seeing too many children riding in car seats improperly installed or wrong for their age groups and sizes. Even worse, some children are riding completely unbuckled. Together we must do a better job of protecting our children from preventable injuries. We encourage all drivers to take advantage of this opportunity to visit our car seat event and get their car seats checked.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), two out of three car seats are misused. “Too often, parents move their children to the front seat before they should, which increases the risk of injury and death,” said Sheriff Mike Neal. “The safest place for kids under 13 is in the back seat.”

Lastly, the Rhea County Sheriff’s Department wants to remind parents and caregivers to always register car seats and booster seats with the car seat manufacturer to receive notifications in the event of a recall.

For more information about child passenger safety, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org/cpsor contact the Sheriff’s Department at 423-775-7837.