Parents 'need to make sure car seats are properly installed'

Date: 25/5/2010

Parents in Bristol are being warned about the dangers associated with child seats that are incorrectly fitted.

Firefighters in the region have been out in force, carrying out safety checks of children's car seats to make sure they are installed property, Jack FM reports.

Gloucestershire's Road Safety Team got together with staff from Britax, Mothercare and local fire station personnel and spent yesterday (May 24th) fitting the seats into cars.

A child is less likely to be killed in a collision if they are properly restrained, but recent reports suggested around eight in ten chairs are not safely installed.

Matt Peskett, Kingswood Station Manager, said the event was put on so parents could get road safety advice to help keep their offspring safe when in the car.

Meanwhile, some motorists in Derbyshire were recently handed fines for not having child seats that passed the necessary safety checks.

Over a five-week period, the Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership checked 159 and discovered more than three-quarters of chairs were unsafe.