The Effingham County Health Department, in conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia State Patrol Post 42, will hold free child car seat safety inspections Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Walmart in Rincon.

Certified child passenger safety technicians will be on hand to teach parents and caregivers how to choose the right car seats for their children and how to install them correctly.

The event is being held on “National Seat Check Saturday” as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Child Passenger Safety Week. NHTSA recommends keeping children rear-facing as long as possible up to the top height or weight allowed by their particular seats. It’s the best way to keep kids safe in cars.

Once a child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, he/she is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness. After outgrowing the car seats, children should be placed in booster seats until they’re big enough to use seat belts safely. The safest place for kids under 13 is in the back seat of the car.

Research shows that car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury for infants by 71 percent and by 54 percent for toddlers in cars, and by 58 percent and 59 percent for infants and toddlers in SUVs, pickups and vans. In 2011, 36 percent of children under 13 in cars, SUVs, vans, and pickups who died in crashes weren’t restrained at the time of the crashes.

“There’s always danger on the road, every time you leave your home,” said Tiffany Jackson of the Effingham County Health Department. “The best way to protect your child is to have him or her in the right seat for the child’s age and size and to use that seat correctly. Even if you think you’ve got it right, come to our National Seat Check Saturday event to find out for sure.”

The Effingham County Health Department is committed to working closely with partners and safety advocates to educate the community on making the kinds of choices that will help keep the children of Effingham County safe.

“All parents want their kids to be safe,” said Jackson. “We hope this event will give parents that peace of mind.”

For more information, call the Effingham County Health Department at 754-6850.