Sponsors will provide free child safety equipment to help those in need comply with a new state law requiring safety restraints for children up to 60 pounds or 6 years of age. The law takes effect Jan. 1. Space is limited, however, and inspections are by appointment only. Call 579-3485 to reserve a slot. Vehicle crashes are the No. 1 preventable cause of death in children and are a major cause of head and spinal cord injuries, experts say.
Inspections consistently show that four in five child safety seats are used incorrectly.
In Sonoma County, advocates have stepped up efforts to educate the public and train technicians to check for proper use of child safety seats. Waterfront Horse Carriage service, which runs horse-drawn carriages at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, had proposed similar service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays around the Plaza and to the Vallejo House and Sebastiani Winery. The company would have needed an exception to existing city ordinances, which prohibit horses on city land outside of designated horse trails, horses in public parks and horses on sidewalks or in crosswalks. The City Council did not make such an exception on Wednesday. Mary Neilan, interim city manager, said those ordinances were enacted several years ago after the council rejected a similar tourist service.