Give your child care seat check up

Parents in Clare are being urged to have their child’s car seat checked, as research from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) indicates that as many as four out of five child car seats are incorrectly fitted.
The RSA Check it Fits service will be visiting locations across the county from Wednesday, August 5 to Friday, August 7, where child car seat installation experts will be available to ensure car seats and restraints are correctly fitted.
The service takes between 10-15 minutes, is free of charge and offers parents and guardians reassurance that their child is safe while travelling in the car.
Since Check it Fits began in October 2013, the RSA service has checked over 8,000 child car seats and restraints. Of these, 82% required some adjustment. Worryingly, 75% of seats required a major adjustment, of which 4% were deemed not fit for purpose and condemned, meaning they have the potential to cause injury or even death in the event of a collision.
If your child’s car seat or restraint is incorrectly fitted, the Check it Fits experts will advise on how to fix the problem, demonstrate how to fit the restraint correctly and answer any queries participants might have to avoid potential serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision
Aisling Leonard, senior road safety promotion officer for the RSA commented, “Almost two out of five children killed are passengers and garda reports into collisions indicate that one in 10 children were not wearing a seatbelt or using a child restraint in 2014. More recent statistics have shown an increase in child passenger fatalities on the road. The reality is that if a child’s car seat isn’t fitted correctly, it could lead to a serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision. Having a correctly fitted car seat is a simple measure parents, grandparents and guardians can take to ensure children are safe while travelling by car.”
Moyagh Murdock, CEO of the RSA added, “The RSA Check it Fits service is there to provide professional, trustworthy advice to parents and guardians around child car seat safety. Parents all over the country are availing of this service to get practical advice and expert fitting of their car seats. We would advise all parents to ensure that when they buy a new car seat, that they get the seat fitted by an expert. We would also advise that parents to check the label on their car seat to make sure it’s appropriate for your child’s age, weight and height, to make sure your seat is firmly installed in the car, and to always ensure that your child’s harness is fitted snugly for every trip.”
For more information on Check it Fits and for an up-to-date schedule of roadshows, visit www.rsa.ie/checkitfits.