Anybody with young children and a car is being encouraged to come to the City Hall parking lot on July 31 for a voluntary inspection of their child safety seats.

The inspection—which, according to RCMP Const. Craig Klem, is “an effort initiated by Thompson RCMP, with the help of Thompson EMS,”—will be held in the City Hall parking lot between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m..

“It’s going to be more informative and voluntary than enforcement,” explained Klem. Though improper use of a child seat is ordinarily against the law, Klem notes that enforcement of that law will be left up to the discretion of the officers present at the inspection, and that as this is a voluntary exercise, those found to have their seats improperly installed or used will more likely simply be informed about the proper use of child safety seats.

The date of July 31 was picked intentionally to coincide with Thompson’s 2010 Homecoming celebrations. RCMP hope that because of Homecoming drawing tourists from nearby areas into Thompson for the weekend, more people will stop by City Hall to have their car seats checked than would do so on an ordinary Saturday.

“It’s an issue with children in Thompson,” Klem says of the safety seats. “It’s not a serious problem, but we have been notified of more incidents than we’d like to see.”

It is estimated that 80 per cent of child car seats in Manitoba are used incorrectly. There are different seats and different procedures intended for children of different ages and weights. If no child seat is available, the safest place for a child is in the middle rear seat.

In this case, though, it’s all about maximizing child safety. As Klem says, “it’s in the best interests of the children to have their seats inspected.”