Capital area public safety agencies and 40 contestants in the 2001 Miss North Carolina Scholarship Pageant will join forces on Saturday, April 21st to conduct free clinics to educate the public about the proper installation of child safety seats. The contestants, who are in town to prepare for the 2001 pageant to be held in June, will join members of the N.C. Highway Patrol, the Raleigh Fire Department, and the Garner Police Department at two "Buckle In Baby Safely" (BIBS) child seat clinics that afternoon.

BIBS is a statewide education program begun by the Highway Patrol in 1998 when national studies showed 70-90 percent of child safety seats were installed incorrectly, and therefore might not protect the child in a crash. BIBS uses brochures, free safety seat clinics, classroom instruction, news releases, and face-to-face contact with citizens to ensure child safety seats are installed correctly and to encourage voluntary compliance with child passenger safety laws.

The Miss North Carolina contestants will greet visitors to the clinics, assist officers in filling out clinic checklist forms, lend a hand to parents with small children while the parents are receiving BIBS instruction, sign autographs, and meet with the public. The contestants' participation in the BIBS clinic is an outgrowth of the work done by Lorna McNeill, Miss North Carolina 2000, who has made public safety issues her platform for her reign as Miss North Carolina. In addition to competing in the Miss America Pageant, McNeill has made over 200 personal appearances across the state promoting public safety issues.

The BIBS Clinics will be held at Crabtree Valley Mall in the Hecht's overflow parking lot off Edwards Mill Road and at the Super K-Mart parking lot in Garner on U.S. 401. They will begin at 1:30 and run until 4:30. Citizens who have child safety seats are invited to come to the clinics to have their seats installed or checked for proper installation or recall.

You are encouraged to have a reporter cover the clinics. We'd also like your help in promoting them by mentioning the clinics in your papers and newscasts on Friday and Saturday. If you have any questions or need any assistance, please give us a call at 733-5027. You can also page me, Renee Hoffman, on the 21st, at 1-800-614-9460. Thanks.