Tip Tuesday with Oxford OPP - March 26th 2024

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Tuesday, 26 March 2024 11:32

In the first-ever Tip Tuesday, OPP Constable Randi Crawford answers questions about car seat safety, common Highway Traffic Act offences, and how many times she has had to use her firearm.

OXFORD COUNTY - The Oxford OPP is answering burning questions that the public wants to know.

Community Safety and Media Relations Constable Randi Crawford stopped by our studio this morning, for the first-ever Tip Tuesday on the Heart FM morning show. It takes place on the last Tuesday of every month, and members of the public can have their questions on the air.

Crawford answered four questions during this morning's segment:

1) What are the requirements for switching a child from a rear-facing car seat to a forward-facing car seat?

Here in Ontario, a child must be in a rear-facing car seat if they weigh less than 20 pounds. Crawford says forward-facing car seats are geared toward toddlers who weigh 20 to 40 pounds.

"There is no height requirement at this stage. However, if you notice your child looks a little scrunched in a rear-facing seat, maybe it's time to weigh them and get them turned around."

Crawford also recommends looking over the car seat manufacturer recommendations.

2) When should a child no longer require a booster seat?

Crawford says according to the law, a child must reach one of three milestones to graduate from a booster seat; they must be eight years old, they must weigh 80 pounds, or they must be at least 4'9" in height.

However, Crawford says you should always make sure your child can be safely seated in a vehicle without a booster seat, regardless of how many items they check off this list.

"You can get them to sit with their back against the back seat and see if their knees can be at a 90-degree angle. You don't want to have them so they're looking like they're slouching, you want their bum against the back seat with bent knees and the shoulder strap of the seatbelt should go between their neck and their shoulder, and fit across their chest, right in the middle of their chest. Lastly, with the lap belt, you want to make sure that it goes right against their hips, not against their stomach and not on their upper leg."

3) Have you ever had to use or discharge your firearm in a situation?

Crawford has been with the OPP for about 10 years now, and she has only had to use her firearm twice. Once was during a robbery here in Oxford, where the suspect was arrested without incident, and the second time she was responding to an injured animal that was highly aggressive. She had to dispatch the animal during that incident to protect members of the public who were in the area.

"Anytime you have to use your firearm is a highly stressful situation and it's a last resort. One thing I can say is that we're very fortunate with OPP that we are equipped with many alternatives to lethal force."

4) Aside from speeding, what is the most common Highway Traffic Act infraction police deal with?

Before visiting the studio, Crawford looked at the number of times Oxford OPP interacted with people on our roadways between January 1st and February 29th this year. She says the numbers might shock you.

"We had about 1,600 charges or warnings and out of those 1,100 were split between speeding with 675 and just over 450 of those were failure to have the proper documents. This is insurance, this is a driver's licence, and this is having your val tags (licence plate renewal) updated."

The next Tip Tuesday is scheduled for Tuesday, April 30th and you can submit a question online here.