600 children left safer than they arrived at the12th Annual 12 News Car Seat Checkup

PHOENIX – In combined efforts with the Safe Kids Maricopa County, 600 children had they car seats installed correctly for free Saturday morning at the 12th Annual 12 News Car Seat Checkup.

Statistics indicate eight out of ten children who are placed in child safety seats and booster seats are improperly restrained. Experts donated their time at Mesa Community College, Paradise Valley Community College and the Peoria Sports Complex, answering parent questions and making sure car seats were installed correctly; 12 News was live at all three locations during 12 News Weekend Today. The inspection takes about 20 minutes for each vehicle.

"In the 12th year of the partnership between Channel 12 and Safe Kids Maricopa County we were able to provide three convenient locations in the valley for parents to get piece of mind from knowing their child's car seat is installed and being used correctly." said Mike Tellef, President of Safe Kids Maricopa County. "It's partnerships like this that make the valley such a great place to raise a family."

“Selecting the right car seat for your child at the right time in his or her development and then having it installed correctly can be confusing,” said Anita Helt, Vice-President of Marketing & Programming at Channel 12.” “We’re honored to partner with the committed team of professionals at the Safe Kids Maricopa County in this annual event to help make it easier for parents.”

For more information on where to get car seats installed log onto carseat.azcentral.com.

Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading international news and information company that publishes 90 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation's largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 1,000 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes nearly 300 titles, including 18 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web. ###