Over half of child car seats are incorrectly fitted
The Road Safety Authority’s child car seat checking service – Check it Fits – is back on the road and will be visiting Drogheda on 15th and 16th February 2023.
Over half of child car seats (56%) checked by the RSA were incorrectly fitted and needed some type of adjustment to make them a safe fit. 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.
Installing a child car seat may seem simple but it is easy to get it wrong and the RSA has found that almost a third of seats fitted incorrectly needed major adjustments .
“We know parents are not intentionally putting children in danger and it is an education issue” said a spokesperson.
To help address this problem, the RSA Check it Fits service will be available free of charge at Smyth’s Toys in the M1 Retail Park , A92 RD45 on Wednesday 15th February from 10:00am to 5:30pm to help parents and ensure car seats and restraints are correctly fitted.
“While the RSA’s experience with its Check it Fits service shows that half of child car seats are fitted incorrectly, worryingly, it found that 30% of these needed a major adjustment to fix them” said Aisling Sloyan, Senior Road Safety Promotion Officer for the RSA.
“… 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. I would encourage people to visit the Check it Fits service when it comes to County Louth and give yourself the peace of mind that your children are travelling safely.”
The service takes between 10-15 minutes and runs from 10.00am – 5.30pm, it is free of charge and offers parents and guardians reassurance that their child is safe while travelling in the car. It is a walk-in service, no appointment needed.
For more information on Check it Fits visit www.rsa.ie/checkitfits.
