Kids’ car safety clocks up concerns as campaign finds lack of awareness
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SATURDAY shoppers strapped in for a lesson on in-car child safety as experts offered free checks on their children’s car seats.
Organised by South Ayrshire Council in partnership with the Scottish Good Egg Guide, the safety campaign - designed to raise awareness of the dangers children face when travelling in cars - rolled into Asda in Ayr on Saturday.
It follows a national campaign in 2011 which found 48 percent of the child seats checked in Scotland were either incorrectly fitted or were incompatible with the vehicle or the child.
Councillor John McDowall, Sustainability and the Environment Portfolio Holder for the council, said of the seats checked 18 had minor faults, 12 had major faults or were not fitted correctly, and one was incompatible with the child using it.
“If a child is correctly restrained when travelling in a car they are less likely to be injured or killed in a road accident,” he said. “Free car clinics are a great way to let anyone who has young children travelling in their car have child restraints checked to see if they are fit for purpose.
“Alarmingly 50 percent of parents in Scotland have not been shown how to correctly fit a new child car seat when it was bought and over 10 percent are not confident about their ability to fit one safely.
“We were able to advise people how to select a new car seat for a growing child, and tell them how fit a new seat properly. “
He added: “If you have children travelling in your car please make sure that they are in a car seat that is safe and secure. One child injured through being placed in a car seat that is the wrong size for them or fitted to the car incorrectly is one too many. We must do all we can to reduce the number of children who are injured when travelling in cars.”
Cmments made by people who had their car seats checked included:
- “Was not happy with seat my grandchild was using and I will now buy a new one after good advice.”
- “Very useful and good advice.”
- “I was horrified to be advised that my child was inappropriately positioned forward facing.”
If you require any further information about car seat safety telephone 01292 616371 or 616249 or visit the website: www.protectchild.co.uk
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Wednesday 19 June 2013
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