Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership (WRSP) is offering free child car seat safety checks at Elliots Field in Rugby from 9am – 4pm on Friday 17 June.
Getting your child car seat checked is so important because checks conducted by Warwickshire Police in November 2021 found that 69% of child car seats were not correctly fitted. The most common issues found related to headrests, seat belt twists, the front seat being too close to a rear facing child seat, the isofix not being installed correctly, and coats being worn in vehicles.
When we point these issues out, most families are shocked to discover they have inadvertently put their child at risk by not having them seated correctly.
That’s why we are encouraging as many parents, grandparents, and those responsible for safely transporting children and young people as possible to come along and get their child car seat checked on 17 June. It is much easier to get these issues checked in person for your own peace of mind and to speak to someone who is trained to nationally accredited standards who can help you get it right.
The law states that a child must be in a child car seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall, whichever comes first and during the event, staff will also use car seat demonstrators, height charts and hand out educational leaflets to explain the fitting.
PCSO Joanne Jackson said “It is important that parents get the right independent advice to ensure that their children are well protected and in turn reduce the risk of children being injured or killed
“Elliots Field in Rugby is a really accessible location not far from the M6 and we hope that this will encourage people from other areas to make the most of the opportunity to get their child car seats checked.”
Cllr Wallace Redford, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Transport and Highways, said: “Our Road Safety Education Team work closely with children in schools across Warwickshire to help improve their safety on the roads. We can also help protect children by providing targeted education, information and advice to parents and carers and ensuring child car seats are correctly fitted and appropriate for the height and weight of the child.”
Chair of WRSP and Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire Phillip Seccombe said “Children and young people are more vulnerable in a collision than adults and that’s why we are offering independent face to face advice to ensure that children are well protected and in turn this can reduce the risk of injury and death. This is part of our Strategy to 2030 that sets out how we – with your help – plan to reach our target of a 50% reduction in those killed or seriously injured on our roads by 2030. ”
The event is taking place during the NPCC national seatbelts campaign that aims to encourage all drivers to ensure they and their passengers of all ages travel safely.
The Child Car Seat Checks initiative was funded by Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Road Safety Fund in 2019 when fifteen Warwickshire Police staff were trained to nationally accredited standards to help improve child car seat safety.
Important things to remember when choosing your child’s car seat
Know the law
- All children must use a suitable restraint for their age, weight or height
- It is safer to transport children in the rear of the car with the correct seat. If you have to use the front passenger seat, the airbag MUST be deactivated if using a rear facing seat.
- Children must use the correct car seat for their height or weight until they reach 135cm tall or their 12thbirthday
- Ensure that the seat has an official standard mark (ECE) R44.04 or R129
- Brake (the road safety charity) and other experts strongly advise parents to go one step beyond this and ensure all children under 150cm tall are always in a proper child restraint, because adult belts are not sufficient in protecting children under this height.
Further advice prior to purchasing a car seat can be found at:
www.childcarseats.org.uk/choosing-using
You can get more information regarding the law and child car seats at https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules
