ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
Public Information Office
2003 Mill Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
(703) 838-4636
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 13, 2000
New Minivan Donated to Alexandria Police for Child Safety Seat Campaign,
Free Safety Seat Checkpoint this Weekend
Earlier this week, the Alexandria City Council approved the donation of a 2000 Toyota Sienna minivan to the Alexandria Police Department. The minivan, donated by Jack Taylor Toyota, will be used by police officers and other trained personnel to demonstrate the proper installation and use of child safety seats.
Alexandria CARES (Child Automobile Restraint Education Services) will host a child safety seat inspection on Saturday, January 15, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Saturn of Alexandria (1605 Fern Street). Trained police, fire and rescue personnel and volunteers will evaluate child safety seats and correctly install them. Families with unsafe seats may buy replacements at a reduced cost from Alexandria CARES.
National studies indicate that up to 85 percent of all child safety seats are used or installed incorrectly, leaving children without adequate protection. In Virginia, children under the age of four traveling in a motor vehicle must be restrained in a safety seat or, if appropriate, a booster seat.
Alexandria CARES is a non-profit service project of the Alexandria Police, Fire and Rescue, and Social Services departments and the Alexandria Jaycees, Kiwanis Club, Pilot Club and T.C. Williams High School Key Club. This checkpoint is sponsored by Saturn of Alexandria.
For more information, please call Officer Mark Bergin, the Alexandria Police Department’s child seat safety coordinator, at (703) 838-4763, extension 4.
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