Community Safety Officer Ron Sonza poses with the $2,000 worth of car seats provided by SGI through the Traffic Safety Community Outreach fund. (Photo/ City of North Battleford)

By Kenneth Cheung

BOOSTER SEATS MATTER

‘Protect your loved ones’: CSOs give out 60 car seats with SGI fund

Jan 8, 2025 | 1:09 PM

Besides getting a $175 ticket, parents in the Battefords will also get a free booster seat.

Community Safety Officers (CSOs) in North Battleford received an SGI grant to give out 60 child safety seats every time they catch parents not having one for their kids during traffic stops.

Officer Ron Sonza, the driving force behind this initiative, noted that last summer, they issued 16 tickets to parents in a month for violating Traffic Safety Acts, stressing that many underestimate the dangers posed to their children.

While some might believe that simply wearing a seatbelt is sufficient to keep kids safe during a short ride, Sonza emphasized that seatbelts are not designed for children.

“It’s designed for adults, not for children, and it’s not for securing their neck,” he said. “They’re gonna fly out of the car if the vehicle comes to an accident,” he said.

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“If you love your children and want to protect them, you’ve got to think before you leave the house, drive your vehicle, that they are safe back there.”

In 2019, SGI reported 71 injuries and one death among children six and under in vehicle incidents. Notably, five were improperly restrained, and 12 wore unsuitable seatbelts.

Car seats reduce the risk of injury in children by around 71 per cent and lower the risk of death by 28 per cent compared to seat belts alone.

Realizing that simply issuing a $175 fine and warning parents about the dangers does not address the root of the problem, he felt, “We have to do something.”

“Kids are still not going home safely, and they still don’t have a booster seat,” he said.

To put his thoughts into action, the moment he knew SGI had a Traffic Safety Community Outreach fund, he took advantage of it and received $2,000 worth of child safety seats last December.

He said that the team has started giving them out since they received it, and people have been very thankful for it.

“They never knew that law enforcement would give out booster seats for free, and some of them are having a hard time with money and a tight budget that they can’t afford to buy one.”

He went on to point out the need to check booster seat expiration dates and ensure proper installation. An expired or incorrectly installed seat can be a safety risk and should be taken to a certified car seat technician for maintenance, he said.

In Saskatchewan, SGI indicates that one in four children injured or killed in collisions were in the wrong car seat, improperly installed, or not using a seat at all.

Looking ahead, he mentioned that CSOs will begin car seat technician certificate training in Saskatoon in February, hoping they can soon assist parents in ensuring that booster seats are safe for their children and in installing them.

—

Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com