L to R: Trooper Lucy Papp, Troop F Occupant Protection Specialist,
Denise McCabe, All Children’s Hospital, and Sharon Tarmon,
Manatee County Bike and Pedestrian Safety Program.

Recently, the Florida Highway Patrol participated in the Manatee County Kids Summit, an event that is held annually at the Manatee County Civic Center in Bradenton, Florida. This year, over twelve thousand families attended the Summit that is designed to encourage safe practices while riding on school buses, in cars, and on bikes.

All Children’s Hospital, Safe Kids, and the Florida Highway Patrol teamed up to share the important message of riding safe in cars with kids in a variety of fun ways. In one activity, children were given the opportunity to color the seat belt of a vehicle on a t-shirt to teach them about proper positioning of the seat belt on their bodies. In another activity, children were fitted for booster seats using different measuring tools such as scales and growth charts to see who should ride in a booster seat. Children who did not have booster seats were supplied with them. One activity designed just for parents taught them how to Spot the Tot, a demonstration that illustrated the difficulty of seeing smaller children while backing a vehicle and the dangers of blind spots.

The Florida Highway Patrol was able to provide 75 child seats and boosters for the children who did not have them. Many of the children traveling to this event were riding completely unrestrained. Thankfully, they were able to leave safer than they came because of this important Kid Summit event.