Drivers who visit Milton Tesco on Thursday (25/6) can have the safety of their child car seats checked, completely free of charge. Cambridgeshire County Council Road Safety experts
have teamed up with Babyland to provide professional checks for car seats or booster cushions, as incorrectly fitted or a lack of the correct restraints put children in significant danger.
It is estimated that around 20% of conventional child car seats are fitted incorrectly by parents or carers. Previous checks carried out by Cambridgeshire County Council has even found a seat tied in with string to the car.
Drivers can get free advice and experts will check to see if the seats they have are properly fitted at the supermarket between 10am and 4:30pm.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says more than 500 children under 11 years are killed or seriously injured each year when travelling in cars, with a further 9,000 slightly injured. The appropriate fitting and use of child car restraints could prevent many of these happening. A properly fitted child restraint keeps the child in their seat, preventing them from being thrown about inside or thrown out of the vehicle.
Current child car seat laws require children under 12 years, and up to 135cm (4ft 5ins) tall, to use a car seat or booster cushion where seatbelts are fitted in cars. In addition, it is advisable for children to continue to use a booster seat up to 150 cm (4ft 11ins) tall. Children from 12 years old or taller than 150 cm no longer need a car seat or booster cushion.
Cambridgeshire County Council Road Safety Officer Matt Staton said:
It is critical that child car seats and booster seats are used appropriately. Even relatively minor crashes can see ineffectively restrained children being avoidably injured, sometimes fatally. Our car seat checking event will help to ensure that children are safely restrained as passengers in cars. Sometimes children complain that seatbelts rub on their necks, and in these cases seatbelt covers can increase comfort, but appropriately fitted restraints for a child’s size and weight must always be used.
