When it comes to shopping for a car seat for your baby or child, the RSA advise to keep two things in mind. Will it fit the needs of my child? Is it compatible with your car?
Since October 2013, the RSA’s ‘Check it Fits’ Service has checked over 4,000 child car seats and restraints in Ireland. Of these, 83% required some adjustment. Worryingly, 79% of seats required a major adjustment, of which 3% were deemed not fit for purpose and condemned, meaning they could have caused injury or even death in the event of a collision.
Parents stopping by the RSA child car seat safety check at Hurleys Super Valu in Midleton got a reality check on last Tuesday.
One lady was shocked to learn that her car seat was unsuitable for the type of car she was driving.
The shape of car seats, the length of safety belts and the position of safety belt anchor points differ between cars. Not all child seats fit all cars she was advised by the RSA representative. In this lady’s instance the seat belt was too long for the seat she had.
According to the RSA the biggest mistakes many parents make are not reading the manual or understanding it correctly.
Their advice “get the seat fitted by the retailer in your car.” Some retailers are very knowledgeable about child restraints, others are not. Try to find a retailer who will let you try the seat in your car first and who will demonstrate how it should be fitted. If this is not possible make sure you can return the seat if it’s not suitable.
When choosing a family car the general rule is to purchase one with short seat belts.
To learn more about child car seat safety log onto www.rsa.ie/childsafetyincars/