Council can help keep your car seats safe
How safe is your child’s car seat? You can find out for free at a special seat testing event put on by Bridgend County Borough Council’s Trading Standards Service this month.
As part of Child Safety Week, parents, carers, grandparents or anyone who needs their child’s seats checked and tested can do so by visiting Tesco, Cowbridge Road, Bridgend on Thursday June 24 and Friday June 25 between 9am and 4pm.
The aim of the event is to raise public awareness about the lack of protection provided by an unsuitable or badly fitted car seat, and how with just a little extra knowledge parents and carers can ensure the future safety of their children while they travel.
The council’s experts will carry out the checks which are completely free of charge and take just 10 minutes to complete.
The law says that all children under 135cm (about 4ft 5in) in height who are under 12 years old must use an appropriate baby seat, child car seat or booster seat – even on short journeys.
The proper use of child car restraints could prevent many of the deaths and injuries to children which occur each year in the UK.
Last year Bridgend County Borough Council recorded an 80 per cent failure rate for those seats that were checked by expert testers.
Of the 101 seats that were tested, nearly a quarter were found to have major faults such as the seats being incorrectly fitted, while nearly half had some form of minor fault.
Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, Councillor David Sage, said: “Child Safety Week aims to help people understand the real risks to children and the simple changes which can reduce those risks - so that children and young people can enjoy safer, healthier, more active lives.
“Bridgend County Borough Council is actively supporting this by putting on our free seat testing event. As an authority we want to raise public awareness about the lack of protection provided by an unsuitable or badly fitted car seat. With just a little extra knowledge parents can ensure their children are safe during car journeys and hopefully these checks will help prevent injuries resulting from accidents in the future.”
Service Manager for Trading Standards, Helen Picton added: “The sorts of faults or problems which can put children at risk include loosely fitted car seats, incorrect routing of the car’s seat belt meaning the child’s seat is not securely fitted, car seats which are incompatible with the make and model of car and car seats which are unsuitable for the weight or age of the child.
“To the trained eye, these faults are easily identified and lives can be saved, so please come along to this important event.”
The event takes place at Tesco, Cowbridge Road, Bridgend between 9am and 4pm on Thursday, June 24 and Friday June 25. For further information on the event please contact Ellis Roberts, Senior Fair Trading Officer, on 01656 643643.
Factfile
Always consider the following when purchasing and using a car seat for your child:
Can the seat be securely fitted into your car?
Not all seats are suitable for all makes and models of car, and it really does pay to try before you buy, and practice before use. You should also bear this in mind should you change your vehicle, or when a seat will also be used to transport a child in other cars (eg those of grandparents, child minders etc).
Is the seat suitable for the weight and age of the child?
Child car seats are banded according to the weight of the child they are designed to carry. Be sure to follow the advice of the manufacturer, and ensure that the seat is replaced as necessary as the child grows.
Is the seat designed to current safety standards?
Look for the official approval mark (usually the United Nations ‘E’ mark). The current safety standard is R44.04.
Have you followed the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to ensure that your child is securely restrained?
If you are able to move the seat from side to side in the car it will not be securely fitted. There should be no twisting of the adult seat belt, and its buckle should not rest on the frame of the child car seat. The seat harness should be checked regularly and adjustments made to account for the clothes worn by the child, as excessive slack can dramatically reduce the protection given.
NEVER use a rear-facing child car seat in a passenger seat with an air bag.
In the event of an accident, the force of an inflating airbag can cause fatal injuries to a child restrained in this way.
NEVER use a second hand child car seat unless you know its history.
A previously used seat may not meet current safety standards, and may not be supplied with the necessary fitting instructions. The seat may already have suffered damage in an accident which can seriously affect its safety
- Last Updated: 21/06/2010
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