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In-Car Child Safety

Our Road Safety Unit continues to have concerns about the number of child car seats that have been bought and later found to be incompatible with the vehicle in which they are fitted.

For the past few years, the Unit has been involved in 'In Car Safety' which aims to raise awareness of the importance of these child restraints being fitted properly. Dumfries and Galloway research into this problem reflects the national figures of between 75% and 87% of seats checked not being fitted properly.

A survey carried out in Dumfries and Stranraer found that of the 66 cars checked, 21% required major adjustment to the fitting of the seat to make it safe, and 12% of seats were found to be entirely incompatible with the vehicle in which they were fitted.

One particular problem is car seats which are designed to face the rear until the child weighs 10kgs, or 22lbs, at approximately 9 months of age, and then has to be turned to face forward as the child develops and can sit up unaided.

In the year 2000 there were a total of 2,955 child casualties on Scotland's roads with more than 540 children killed or seriously injured. Many of these deaths and injuries might have been avoided had the child been properly restrained.