Tollway, State Police Sponsor Kids Identification, Safety Seat Event in Downers Grove

The Illinois Tollway and Illinois State Police District 15 will host a free Kids Identification and Safety Seat (K.I.S.S.) event in Downers Grove on Saturday, Sept. 22, as part of National Seat Check Saturday.

Parents, grandparents and caregivers are invited to stop by to create kids’ identification cards and participate in child safety seat inspections.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Illinois Tollway’s Downers Grove maintenance site, located on Finley Road between the Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355) and the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88).

National Seat Check Saturday is part of Child Passenger Safety Week (Sept. 16-22), a national effort to remind parents and caregivers of the lifesaving effect child safety seats have in protecting young children. 

“We’ve experienced an exceptionally positive response to our efforts to help keep children safe, whether they’re on or off the road,” said Illinois Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur in a release. “The success we have achieved through our K.I.S.S. events demonstrates that we are providing a valuable service and peace of mind for parents, grandparents and caregivers."

K.I.S.S. events offer the opportunity to have identification cards created for children age 3 and older. Specially trained professionals will take kids’ photographs and fingerprints and gather vital information to include on three personal identification cards—one for home and two for a wallet or purse. This information will not be stored by police, but rather, used by parents and others in the event of an emergency.

The event will also provide certified child passenger safety technicians to inspect and install child safety seats, and help drivers stay up-to-date with the latest safety seat information. Properly installed safety seats eliminate a potential distraction for drivers and significantly reduce the risk of injury or greater tragedy for children in the event of an accident. However, 80 percent of child safety seats in Illinois are improperly installed, according to state police.

The K.I.S.S. event in Downers Grove is the last of 17 scheduled on the Tollway system this year. So far, District 15 police have checked 383 seats and issued 923 identification cards—more than double the number issued last year.

For more information about Child Passenger Safety Week visit www.nhtsa.gov/safety/cps.

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