How Safe is Your Child's Car Seat?

Whether it is in the home or in the car, child safety is of the utmost importance to parents. We buy safety locks to keep them out of medicine or cleaning cupboards, insert plastic caps into electricity power points and use safety gates near stairs. All of these things can be done with relative ease and without too much strain on the hip pocket.

However, when it comes to keeping our babes safe on the road, many parents invest both more time and money into their purchases. But, even the most expensive child restraint seat, with all the bells, whistles and drink holders, is only going to be effective in an accident if it is fitted correctly.

Astoundingly, recent RACV research has shown that 70% of child restraints aren’t fitted or used properly. (At this point I can’t help but imagine myself standing in the schoolyard at pick up time looking at the mothers gathered there, and thinking…7 out of 10 of us may be driving around with our kids in ill-fitted seats. It’s a pretty sobering thought!)

In February 2011, Holden launched its FREE child restraint checking service – Buckle Up Kids – aimed at educating parents and caregivers to correctly fit and adjust their child’s restraints. In its first six months of operation, more than 90% of the child seats inspected required rectification, with the most common areas requiring attention being:

• correct fitting and adjustment of harness straps

• anchor (tether straps)

• seats belts

• twisted harness straps

The FREE Buckle Up Kids service is currently offered at events hosted by child care centres and community groups in Victoria and South Australia, and will be launched in Queensland shortly. There must be a minimum of ten participating vehicles to be eligible – and the service is open to all makes and models of vehicles, not just Holdens.

The service provides parents and caregivers with a full inspection of their child restraint by a professional fitter, along with verbal feedback, completed feedback form, and easy to follow instructions on how to rectify any problems that are detected.