Child Safety

Maryland State Police will conduct free child safety seat checks this week at the Hagerstown Barracks. Today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., anyone with a child safety seat can come and have them examined for function and proper installation. Drivers should always wear their seat belts and make sure children are buckled in child safety seats to reduce chances of injury in the event of an accident, police said. State police are also reminding drivers to use caution while traveling during the holiday season.

Health Notes page 2 Fire prevention, child safety program set for Tuesday Shoney's and Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway will sponsor a fire prevention and child safety awareness program Tuesday, June 8, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Shoney's restaurant, 17301 Valley Mall in Hagerstown. The event will feature child safety car seat checks, children's bicycle helmet safety checks, blood pressure checks and information on fire prevention. A fire truck and ambulance will be on display for tours, and WYII-FM 95.9 radio personalities will do a live radio remote.

HALFWAY - The Volunteer Company of Halfway and Shoney's Restaurant at the Valley Mall are sponsoring a fire prevention and child safety awareness night Tuesday, June 8, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 8. Some of the events will include child safety seat checks, bike helmet checks and blood pressure screening. Fire safety information and the Fire Safety trailer will be available and a fire truck and ambulance will be on display. Members of the fire department will act as "celebrity servers" at Shoney's from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. All tips from the evening will benefit the fire department.

The sun was shining on April 10, 1998, when Victoria and Christopher Glasow, left their Falls Church, Va., home, on their way to visit relatives in Ohio. They never reached their destination. [cont. from news page ] A car crash at a Hagerstown exit off Interstate 70 injured both and totaled their 1995 Honda Accord. The Glasows and law enforcement officials attribute their survival to their seat belt use. "If I wasn't wearing my seat belt, I would have been shot out of the car," said Virginia Glasow, 42. Maryland State Police have been stepping up seat belt law enforcement and education in April and May as part of the Chief's Challenge.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Motorists stopped this week by Pennsylvania State Police may find the trooper handing out a stuffed elephant instead of a ticket. The troopers will be giving the toy pachyderms not to drivers, but to children correctly buckled up in vehicles, according to South Central Pennsylvania Highway Safety, a coalition serving Franklin, Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties. The animals, wearing "Elephants Never Forget to Buckle Up" T-shirts, are a reward to buckled up families during National Child Passenger Safety Week.

A free child safety seat checkpoint will be held today from 3-6 p.m. at Children's Village of Washington County, 1546 Mount Aetna Road. The checkpoint is designed to help parents understand how their safety seat should be installed in their vehicle for maximum protection for the child. In addition to improper installation, there are problems with how children are restrained in the safety seats, experts say. Children 12 and under shouldn't ride in the front passenger seat of vehicles with air bags, authorities said.

Tri-State area state police will be out in force this weekend in an effort to make the roads safer over Memorial Day weekend. Lt. Donnie Knott of the Maryland State Police in Hagerstown said extra troopers will be on the road in Washington County from midnight Thursday to midnight Monday. They will be part of Operation Care, a statewide state police effort to reduce accidents over the weekend. "The troopers will be concentrating on speed, driving while intoxicated, seatbelt violations and aggressive driving," Knott said.

Maryland's child safety seat laws Following are Maryland's child passenger safety laws: - Any child who is under 4 years old or who weighs 40 pounds or less must be in a federally approved safety seat, according to the safety seat and vehicle manufacturer's instructions. - No one can transport a child under 16 unless the child is in a safety seat, or belted in. - Children under 16 may not ride in an unenclosed cargo bed of a pickup truck. Safety seat requirements are as follows: - Reclining infant seats for children up to 20 pounds must be rear-facing.

by Kevin G. Gilbert / staff photoshop see the enlargement Deputies stage child safety seat sting BOONSBORO - Parents dropping off their children at the Teddy Bear Daycare Center in Boonsboro on Wednesday morning were greeted by police. Washington County Sheriff's Department deputies Jim Holsinger and Mark Hansberger were at the center from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., checking on whether children arriving at the center were safely seated, and whether child safety seats were properly installed and secured.