Car seat safety checks (From Barry And District News)

Car seat safety checks

THE Vale of Glamorgan Council is inviting local parents to get their baby or child car seat safety-checked for free.

At the event, on Friday, April 1, drivers can bring along their children's car seats, along with the car they would usually be fitted in, to get them checked over.

Between 10am and 3pm, qualified professionals will be on hand at the Barry Waterfront branch of Halfords to advise parents on whether their seats are appropriate and whether they are fitted properly.

The checks, held regularly by the Road Safety and Trading Standards departments, are part of an ongoing council drive to decrease the number of children killed or injured every year because of wrongly fitted or inappropriate car seats.

In 2003, 53 percent of children who were killed or injured in Wales received their injuries as a result of car accidents.

A recent survey revealed that 70 percent of child and baby car seats safety checked by Welsh council officers were either wrongly fitted or were not suitable for the car, with parents claiming they had not been given any advice when buying the seats.

The council is therefore encouraging retailers to offer advice on buying and fitting car seats and to let customers'try before they buy.'

The council's Head of Planning and Transportation, Rob Thomas, said: "Badly fitted car seats, or seats that are wrong for the child or the car, are extremely dangerous. If you attend the Car Seat Clinic on April 1, you will get competent advice from qualified experts, and it might reduce your child's injuries in an accident.