Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 through 12, but proper use of car seats can dramatically increases the chance of surviving a crash.

Six children younger than 12 died in crashes in Oregon last year, and only one was using a child restraint system, according to information from the Oregon Department of Transportation. The agency reports that car seats increase the likelihood of surviving a crash by 71 percent for infants younger than 1 and by up to 59 percent for toddlers 1 through 4.

To help ensure children are properly restrained, Good Shepherd Medical Center’s Safe Communities program, in conjunction with ODOT, provides car seat clinics regularly in Umatilla and Morrow counties. At a clinic Friday at the Umatilla Morrow Head Start in Hermiston, Jennifer Berry from Stanfield discovered both her children needed new car seats.

“I’ve actually been looking for the last couple of months to find someone that was certified so they could check them,” she said. “I mean, I don’t know. I’m the mom. I look at their weights, and I think yeah they’re good, but I was wrong.”

Oregon law requires some form of child restraint until a child reaches age 8, or grows to 4 feet 9 inches tall and the adult belt system fits them correctly. Children younger than 1 or less than 20 pounds must be restrained in a rear-facing seat. Children heavier than 40 pounds must be restrained in either a child seat or a booster seat appropriate for their size, until reaching the minimum age or height.

Ina Abercrombie, a Good Shepherd car seat technician, said the clinics help parents accurately weigh and measure their children and check the current car seats to ensure a proper fit. She said each car seat has different height and weight limits and expiration dates.

“Sometimes it gets confusing, and that’s why these clinics are really important,” she said.

The clinics are free, and all sizes of new seats are available if needed for a minimal fee, or free for those who can prove they are experiencing economic hardship, she said. The clinics are offered about once each month, she said, but the next session has not yet been planned.

“If a person is interested in a clinic, they can call Head Start or the hospital, and we can let them know when the next one is,” she said. “If someone wants to request a clinic, they can get ahold of me at Good Shepherd Medical Center at 541-667-3472, and we’d be happy to come to their organization. We do it at schools, fire departments, Head Start, any of those kinds of places.”