Child car seat clinics – steps in the right direction

More parents are helping to keep their children safe by making sure their car seats are properly fitted.

That’s the welcome conclusion of Bury Council’s road safety officers, who have just held five child car seat clinics at supermarkets including Aldi, Asda and Tesco stores.

Some 213 seats were checked and 124 (58%) were found to be correctly fitted. This was a small improvement from clinics held in the last six years, when 56% (435 out of 755 seats) were suitable.

Jan Brabin, senior road safety officer, thanked Aldi, Asda and Tesco for their support in delivering the clinics.

“More parents are becoming aware of the need for extra protection for children in vehicles, and more are choosing the right car seat and fitting it correctly,” she said. “We would always recommend that parents buy one from a retailer that will ensure the car seat is compatible with your vehicle and show you how to install it.”

The clinics were held with staff from Child Seat Safety Ltd so that parents could have their car seats checked by experts and take away useful information on road safety matters.

Julie Dagnall from Child Seat Safety Ltd said: “Developments with Isofix and I-Size are helping to make child car seats more user-friendly for parents. If car seats become more standardised and compatible, we should see an increase in their correct use and installation. There are also benefits in keeping children in rearward facing car seats for longer.”

Bury Road Safety Team has a wealth of advice on the council’s website – go to www.bury.gov.uk

ENDS

Press release issued: 18 July 2017.