Bath and North East Somerset Council is to run a campaign which aims to cut child passenger casualty rates across the local area.
If properly restrained, a child is three times less likely to sustain a head injury in a collision than an unrestrained child.
So as part of the campaign, the Council is holding drop-in clinics about the correct way to fit in-car child seats as follows:
- Wednesday 21st May, at Radstock Police Station;
- Thursday 19th June, at Argos Car Park, Midsomer Norton;
- Tuesday 19th August, at KRFC, Keynsham.
These will run from 9am to 4pm.
Parents or carers can have their child car seats checked for safety by experts and hear more about in-car child safety.
To help tackle this important road safety issue, the Council has also joined the Good Egg In-Car Child Safety Campaign, designed to ensure that babies and children are properly restrained whilst travelling in the car.
The Good Egg Campaign shows that:
- An unrestrained child can be killed in an impact with speeds as low as 5mph.
- If properly restrained a child is three times less likely to sustain a head injury in a collision than an unrestrained child.
In previous years individual child car seats were checked at clinics across the UK as part of the Good Egg Campaign.
From this, 1,221 (52%) were found to be either incorrectly fitted or were incompatible with the vehicle they were installed in. There were wide variances, with as few as 1 in 10 child seats correctly fitted in some parts of the country.
Irene Stewart, Road Safety Officer at Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “It’s a startling fact that an unrestrained child passenger can suffer fatal injuries in a collision at less than 5mph.
“Although well intentioned parents may be well versed in buying a car seat, the danger of serious injury is just as great if the seat is not fitted properly or if they have chosen the wrong type of seat for the height, weight and age of the child.”
Parents can find out more about the campaign and also the retailers who have signed up to the Good Egg Charter at www.bathnes.gov.uk.
Bath and North East Somerset Council would also like local retailers/stockists of child car seats to obtain Good Egg accreditation. To find out more contact – [email protected].
