Information Bulletin
FREE CHILD SAFETY SEAT CHECKS FOR SHETLAND
Families in Shetland can have their child car seat checked for free by Shetland’s Road Safety Unit as part of an initiative to improve in-car safety for children.
The road safety clinics will be available between 10am and 3pm on 8th July at Tesco Store, South Road, Lerwick and on 9th July in Coop Car Park, Holmsgarth, Lerwick., Car seat checks will be carried out by specially trained road safety officers.
Part of a Scotland-wide campaign to reduce the number of badly-fitted car seats being used in vehicles, the clinics will not only check that car seats are fitted correctly but also that they are the right seat for the children using them and the car they are being used in.
Elaine Skinley, Road Safety Officer for SIC, says: “Parents must understand that there is a real life-and-death difference for their children if they fit the wrong seat, or fit the right seat incorrectly.
“Current legislation means that all children, who are under 12 years old and less than 135cm in height must be in the correct child restraint. Parents must make sure they buy the correct seat for the car and child, and make sure that if they move it from car to car, the reinstallation is correct and secure.
“Unrestrained children can be killed at speeds as low as 5mph, so it is important that children are properly restrained on every trip.”
Checks on child seats, carried out by Road Safety Officers across Scotland during the last 7 years, revealed more than half (51%) were either fitted incorrectly or were incompatible with the child or the make or model of car they were being used in.
The major areas of concern were:
- seats that were too small or too big for the child using them;
- seats that did not fit properly in the car they were used in;
- seatbelts that were twisted and too loose to keep the seat secure, and
- buckles that were bent or rested on the car seat frame.
The initiative, spearheaded by a consortium of public and private sector organisations including Road Safety Scotland, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), the Arnold Clark Group, and Local Road Safety Units, is designed to encourage parents to take in-car safety more seriously.
Information on the law and more information on car seats and how to improve in-car safety can be found on the campaign website at www.protectchild.co.uk