California Highway Patrol officers have hit the road, keeping a keen eye out for motorists who choose not to buckle up or neglect to put their youngsters in child safety seats.

The CHP has received a $1 million grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety to make sure drivers, passengers and children are properly strapped in.

Lake County mom Jessica Rhyner is a living testimonial on the importance of seat belts and child safety seats.

Last week, the young mother was involved in a solo crash on Highway 29 near Calistoga. She was driving her Mercedes sedan with her two young daughters in the back seat when she lost control of her car, which hit the embankment and rolled.

“The car ended up on its top with my babies hanging upside down in their car seats,” Rhyner said.

Bella, 5 months, and Mia, 22 months, survived the crash without a scratch, Rhyner said. “I am just so thankful my babies are OK. I would never, ever, consider taking them in the car without making sure they were in their child car seats.”

Rhyner was also wearing her seat belt and suffered only minor injuries. She said the car seats had been inspected previously by the CHP and got the seal of approval for being installed properly.

CHP Officer Jaret Paulson could not pinpoint the actual amount of the one-year grant that will go to the Napa CHP office, but he said it would be enough to boost enforcement substantially.

“We will receive enough money to pay for 450 hours of time used to enforce the grant. That includes salaries for the sergeants, officers and clerical staff,” Paulson said.

Traffic crashes are the leading killers in California for children 14 and under. The biggest contributing factor to the grisly statistic is whether kids were not in child safety seats or were in seats that were not properly installed, according to the CHP.

The seat belt campaign enforcement kicked off in early October.

“We’ll be patrolling all of the highways and roadways within the CHP jurisdiction in Napa County,” Paulson said. ‘We will be strictly enforcing the law. We will also be going to schools, community events and other public functions giving out literature and educating the public on the importance of seat belt laws.”

Another portion of the grant money will be used to provide free child seat safety inspection for parents and guardians.

The CHP will increase the number of technicians certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who will be qualified to do child safety seat inspections. Inspections are done by appointment at the CHP offices.

The CHP also assists parents obtaining a car seat if they cannot afford to purchase one. In some cases, the CHP will give replacement car seats when they find one that is defective, Paulson said.

Children must be in a child restraint safety seat until they are 6 years old or weigh 60 pounds. Youngsters should ride in the back seat until they are at least 12, because of the potential danger of front seat passenger air bags deploying in a crash, according to the CHP.

Babies must be in an infant seat in the back seat, facing backwards until they are 1 year old and weigh 20 pounds. However, the CHP strongly recommends parents keep their babies in these types of car seats for as long as possible.

Older children may be restrained in a booster seat that is fully harnessed, including across the chest.

The fine for the first seat belt offense is $88, and $360 for the first offense involving a child safety seat.

Information about child safety seats and inspections is available by calling the Napa CHP office at 253-4906.