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By Shane Clausing

STEP & BEEP

Child safety seats the focus of November STEP

Nov 4, 2020 | 5:34 PM

Enforcement Services in Grande Prairie will be cracking down on child safety seats and abandoned vehicles this November, as part of its Selected Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) and Bylaw Enforcement Education Program (BEEP).

Sgt. Ross Gear says that making sure your child is sitting in a proper seat while in a vehicle is crucial for safety.

“The stats show that if there is a collision, god forbid that there is a collision, that a child is three-and-a-half times safer in a safety seat or booster seat than without.

“It really will lessen the impact of the collision for the child. It’s a very important piece of safety equipment.”

Gear added that children under six years old or weighing under 40 pounds are required to sit in a booster seat or child safety seat. The driver is reminded that once a child is two years old or reaches the maximum weight or height limit for the rear-facing car seat, the manufacturer sometimes recommends that the child transitions to a forward-facing seat.

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Sgt. Gear also mentioned that as they look out more for children sitting in booster seats, they’ll also continue to monitor to make sure that drivers and passengers are wearing seatbelts.

“A seatbelt is a very common and a very useful piece of safety equipment. There are a lot of study’s done on it and just about every government will agree that it’s a piece of equipment that really does protect a person in a collision.”

The fine for not wearing a seat belt or not having your kid strapped into the vehicle safely is $162.

Bylaw Enforcement Education Program (BEEP)

Meanwhile, this month’s BEEP is focusing on making sure that abandoned vehicles on the road or highways get removed as soon as possible.

Gear says as long as the vehicle owner is willing to work with Enforcement Services on getting their vehicle off the road in a decent matter of time, they will work with the owner.

“We don’t tow that many vehicles, but we move a lot of vehicles along. Most people are pretty good. If we put a notice on the vehicle we’ll check back to see if it’s moved and most of the time it has moved.”

“If a vehicle is going to be there for beyond a reasonable amount, make sure that somebody calls the office and explains why. We’re willing to work with any citizen and use discretion, however, at the end of the day a road was never meant to be a parking lot.”

Gear says that his teams also pay attention to vehicles not being used in parking lots, however, the private business that owns the lot is usually in charge.