Boosting the message of safety even on short trips
Judith Edwards • Published 4 Oct 2010 11:17
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As part of the awareness week is Seat Check Saturday, where parents can visit venues across the country and where professionals ensure that child car seats are fitted correctly.rnIn the UK, motor accidents are the main cause of child mortality between the ages of two and four years, last year, 8,306 children were injured in car accidents*.rnRoger Cheetham, managing director of Clippasafe, child safety product manufacturer, said: "The National Child Passenger Safety Week has done a great job of raising awareness of the dangers in the US, but over here much more still needs to be done. Many parents don't realise that a child is at a considerably greater risk of serious injury than an adult. rn"Young children's heads can account for a large proportion of their height and weight, meaning that incredible strain is put on a child's neck in the event of a bump or crash. rn"Children must be seated in the appropriate child seat for their age and height, and should be secured using a belt that lies across the shoulder and the lap."rnIn the UK, government advice states** that rear-facing seats should be used for infants weighing under 13kg. After this period, a child should be seated in a car seat with an integral strap, until they reach 18kg, followed by a booster seat. A child should not sit in a car without a child seat until they are more than 135cm tall or over the age of 12, and at all stages the seat belt should fit correctly. rnRoger Cheetham said: "On short journeys, parents will sometimes allow their children to sit in the front of the car, or without the appropriate booster seat. It's easy to think that nothing will happen when only travelling a short distance, but in fact most accidents happen on these kinds of journeys and at slower speeds. Another major car safety issue is the use of vehicle lap belts. Shoulder straps are sometimes avoided because they ride up into the child's face, becoming uncomfortable and causing distress, but lap belts alone are just not safe enough."rnResearch from the Irish Medical Journal*** shows that accidents which occur when a child is only restrained with a lap belt are much more likely to result in serious spinal injury. In response, Clippasafe has created the Secure Belt Travel Pillow, designed to keep the seat belt (or child car seat straps) securely on the child's shoulder, as well as providing a comfortable cushion for both long and short journeys.rn
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 30 Sep 10
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