FERGUSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WTAJ) – Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injury for children in America. Professionals in our area are attending a national training aimed at educating them on proper car seat usage to save lives.

From Oct. 17 to Oct. 19, local and state enforcement officers and human service organizations professionals are invited to attend the nationally standardized Child Passenger Safety (CPS) training at Ferguson Township Municipal Building.

“I always say at the beginning of the class, we always have students kind of look at us like, really? You’re going to take three days of our time for this?” Regional Coordinator Kelly Whitaker said. “Then as we start to get into it, they’re often saying, ‘Wow, we wish we had more time or more practice or can we see more seats?'”

The three-day course will consist of classroom teaching, hands on skills and a car seat safety check. This training allows CPS technicians to educate parents and caregivers with up-to-date child passenger safety information.

“I think this is really important not only for me as a law enforcement officer, but for new parents, grandparents, caregivers,” Ferguson Township Police Officer Sherese Ososkie said. “There’s a lot to it to make sure that the babies are safe.”

On Thursday, Oct. 19 from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., parents and caregivers are invited to attend a free public car seat safety check at Bobby Rahal Honda on West College Avenue. Participants can ask questions and receive hands-on instruction from certified CPS technicians on how to choose, install and use car seats and booster seats for their child’s age and size.

“We typically see about nine out of ten car seats have some type of misuse,” Whitaker said. “It could be something minor but in a severe crash, something that is minor could be very severe in the injury level for that child.”