Seat belt safety check

POLSON — Polson Police Officer Brian Kunz decided to become a Child Safety Seat Technician because as a crash investigator, he could think of nothing worse then being called to an accident scene where a child was hurt. The certification course, which he said was “no joke,” required an entire 40-hour week of learning about seatbelts, different retractors and seat positions in various cars.

“I had a two-year-old daughter at the time,” he said. “During the certification, I learned, sure enough, I was installing our car seat wrong, and my wife was, too.”

According to Kunz, four-out-of-five carseats are installed wrong. In an effort to minimize that statistic in Lake County, the Polson Police Department offers a child safety check at the Polson Fire Department from 10 a.m. to noon every third Thursday of the month.

Officers will perform a safety check and perform a correct install if necessary. Perhaps the most important step is to show the parent the correct installation so that the next time the seat is removed, it will be put back safely.

-Reporter Ali Bronsdon