CORPUS CHRISTI - Texas is tightening the rules on seat belts and child safety seats in vehicles.
The law will go into effect on Sept. 1. A child younger then 8-years-old has to be in a car seat or booster seat. Children who are 4 feet 9 inches are exempt from this requirement. Police will not start handing out tickets until June 1.
Baby Ciena is always buckled up in a car seat and will probably have to be for the next eight years. Sometimes installing a car seat or booster can be complicated.
"It's not easy. It is very complicated to install it safely. So, those people who know how to do it safely, it gives parents a piece of mind that when they are out in the road that their children are safe," parent Linda Fletcher said.
The Corpus Christi Fire Department used to have a program that trained firefighters to inspect and install car seats properly. However, they do not have that program anymore.
"Although we would like to continue a program like that, there are other organizations that are better suited and better equipped and better prepared to deliver those types of programs," the fire department said.
Parents needing help can go to Driscoll Children's Hospital. People at the injury prevention department said they get an overwhelming amount of parents who need their child's safety seat checked.
City hall representatives said they don't have plans to fund a program that would educate firefighters to install and inspect car seats. If the fire department does make a recommendation to city hall, they will take it into consideration
"We are always looking for ways to serve the community. If we can find something that we can do that there is in fact a need and we can fill that need, we will certainly look at it," the fire department said.
Even if the fire department doesn't get the funding needed to train firefighters, there are still plenty of agencies that can help parents make sure their children are safe.
If drivers are caught breaking the law, they could be fined anywhere between $25 to $250.
Online Reporter: Rashi Vats
