Child Car Seats

15 April 2014

The importance of correct fitting of child car seats has again been highlighted.  In Britain the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has upgraded its website which is now smartphone friendly so parents can access safety information instantly if they have car seat worries while on the move. The site is receiving 4,500 visits a day.

Also recent research by Good Egg Safety shows a 13 per cent rise in badly fitted child seats between 2010 and 2013.

The figures, based on checks of more than 10,000 child seats in England, Scotland and Wales, show a rise in unsafe fitting from 47 per cent in 2010 to 60 per cent in 2013. It blames poor in-shop assistance by some retailers, online buying, using hand-me-downs and buying second-hand.

In 2012, official figures show 19 children under 12 were killed while in cars, almost 200 were seriously injured and more than 4,700 slightly injured. All children must use a child seat appropriate for their weight until they are 4ft 5ins tall or 12 years old, whichever they reach first. However, there are no rules on seat fitting or information given by retailers, say experts