Children at First Baptist Church’s preschool had a chance to explore the inside of a police car Thursday while getting a lesson in how to stay safe.

Traffic investigator Connie Ricketts and officer Russell Dorsey gave about two dozen students in the preschool program a tour of a patrol car, an explanation of police equipment and a lesson in occupant safety.

The students passed their lesson with flying colors.

“Everybody in this room should be sitting in what?” Ricketts asked the students.

“A car seat!” the group of students between 2 and 5 called out in unison.

State law requires any vehicle occupant younger than 4 to be in a car seat. Children younger than 7 or shorter than 4’9” must use a booster seat.

“The reason why you sit in a car seat is if your mom and dad get into a wreck, it’ll keep you safe,” Ricketts told the students.

Child safety seats, however, have an expiration date and should never been used after having been involved in a car crash, Ricketts said.

Vicksburg police offer free car seat inspections and have a number of certified inspectors, including Ricketts. The inspectors were required to complete a 40-hour course in child seat safety.

Students were encouraged to share their knowledge with their parents.

“Tell your parents not to text and drive. It’s unsafe and will cause an accident,” Dorsey said.

A law set to go into effect July 1 will make texting and driving illegal.