• 05
• Aug
• 2007
• 

Report highlights poorly fitted and maintained Child Booster Seats and Car Seats

In a recent report just published by Derbyshire County Council it is apparent that even though parents are getting the message that car seats and booster seats need to be used when taking their children on car journeys they are still not fitting them correctly or ensuring they are in a good state of repair.

Of the 125 car seats checked last month by Derbyshire County Council 75% (93) were either incorrectly fitted, unsuitable for the type of car they were used in or damaged as to cause safety issues for the child.

Also, during recent free safety checks carried out by Derbyshire County Council of 21 seats checked only 5 needed no adjustment at all.

The figures returned by this report cause great concern for safety groups, it’s over 4 years now since the Booster Seat laws made it mandatory for any child below 135cm and younger than 12 years old to use a booster seat when travelling in a car.

If you are unsure of how to fit your car safety seat correctly please contact the manufacturer or the supplier you bought it from. Halfords provide an excellent fitting service, as do MotherCare.

And if you are buying your first car seat or booster seat we would strongly recommend purchasing it from a store that offers a fitting service, like the two mentioned above. If you buy online from either of these suppliers we are sure they will extend the same fitting service to you if you go along to the store with a copy of your receipt.