​​Child car seat clinics - here to help parents

Parents could receive life-saving advice by attending one of three clinics on installing the correct car seat for their child.

The clinics, organised by Bury Council’s road safety team, take place at Asda Pilsworth (12 July), Asda Radcliffe (13 July) and Tesco Prestwich (14 July), all from 10.30am to 3pm.

Experts from the council and Child Seat Safety Ltd will be there to talk about the latest developments in child car seats, the different types of seats, and give advice on in-car safety ‘best practice’ for children. They will also check your child car seat to see if it is fitted properly.

These events have proved very popular over the past four years, with thousands of parents given advice. Of the 375 child car seats checked, no fewer than 199 (53%) were either fitted incorrectly or were unsuitable for the child or the vehicle. This means that the restraint would not have worked effectively in the event of a crash or the vehicle stopping suddenly.

Jan Brabin, senior road safety officer at Bury Council, said: “In-car safety is important for all ages, but babies and children are particularly vulnerable due to their size and the lack of support in vehicles. It is essential that parents get the right advice to help them make informed and safe decisions. The car seat checks can give parents real peace of mind, as well as improve the safety for the child travelling in their car.”

The law states that every child passenger up to a height of 135cm or the age of 12, whichever they reach first, must be in an appropriate child car seat. There is a wide variety of child car seats available and these are not always compatible with every model of vehicle. In addition, the fitting instructions for car seats can be confusing and lead to fitting errors.

ENDS

Press release issued: 29 June 2016.

Note to editors: Journalists will be welcome to attend any of the three car child seat clinics.