MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — On Monday, WVU Medicine Children’s helped out local parents by providing free car seat inspections in Morgantown.

Those who wanted to get their car seats checked went through a drive-thru orchestrated by the WVU Medicine Children’s Injury Prevention and Safety Program.

For this event, 12 News spoke with WVU Medicine Children’s Injury Prevention Specialist, Abby Rader, who was able to provide some statistics relating to car safety and children, as well as some facts that explain why it’s important to make sure infants and small children are properly fastened.

“Just sitting in a seatbelt by itself does really nothing to protect a child,” according to Rader. “Different seats are designed in a way to protect a kiddo from feeling a lot of impact forces.” The different types of car seats (infant, booster, etc.) are important to distinguish because they take into account age, height, and weight.

Rader said that the Injury Prevention and Safety Program is “super excited” to participate in this safety event. “We really enjoy helping and encouraging caregivers to feel empowered in their car seat installations, and we just want people to feel safer in general,” she said.

Rader said that the members of the program are always available to help answer any questions that anyone might run into. More information on car seat safety and other resources available in the community can be found on the WVU Medicine Children’s Injury Prevention and Safety Program’s website.

On Saturday, Nov. 18, the hospital will also be lit up in green to recognize National Injury Prevention Day.