Road Safety Forum urges parents to check child car seats
Date: 10 December 2024
Time: 03:00
The Orkney Road Safety Forum is urging parents and carers of children to check if they are using their child car seats correctly.
The appeal comes following the “concerning” statistics which have come to light after a Good Egg Car Seat Safety clinic ran in the county during the summer.
At last week’s Forum meeting, members were advised that of the 25 car seats checked during the event in Kirkwall in July – only two were fitted correctly. Twenty-three car seats were fitted incorrectly, and over half of those (13) were major or incompatible errors.
The Council’s Road Safety Officer, Yvonne Scott, said: “The major errors included things like the seat belt being over the horns of the booster seat, which is a really simple fix – they should go under; the harness height being incorrect or too slack; the harness not being on the child’s shoulders and padded clothing being worn. A number of children were also too young for their respective car seats.
“Minor errors included slack or twisted seat belts, the base being too loose and side impacts being incorrectly positioned.
“We are very grateful to members of the public for going along to the free clinic, that’s 25 children much safer in their car seats as a result. However, the number of major and incompatible errors found is really concerning. There are likely to be many more folk out there who are unaware of the danger they are putting their child at risk of every time they go on a journey.
“We would urge people to recheck for some of the errors mentioned. There’s a huge amount of information available online for how to correctly fit your particular car seat – and many online tutorials folk can watch. Please check out the Good Egg videos at https://www.goodeggcarsafety.com/videos.html
“We hope that there will be a car seat clinic in Orkney in 2025 but will only be able to confirm nearer the time.”
Acting Chair of the Road Safety Forum, Councillor David Dawson, said: “These figures which are much worse than in 2022 are really concerning. Folk working on the frontline of the emergency services will tell you that making sure your car seat is fitted properly to your child and your vehicle can make all the difference when it comes to decreasing the risk of serious injury in the event of an accident.
“Taking some time to research your child’s car seat at the outset, ensuring it is fitted correctly and that you use it appropriately, can save lives.”
Find out more: https://goodeggsafety.com
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