Research shows that more than eight out of ten child safety seats across the UK are incorrectly fitted.*
Road Safety GB (RSGB), the road safety organisation that represents over 200 local authority road safety teams across the UK, has launched a Good Egg campaign to highlight the potential dangers to parents and carers.
The Good Egg campaign is a major national road safety initiative designed to ensure that babies and children are properly restrained while travelling in the car, by showing parents and carers the correct way to fit in-car child safety seats. This is important because:
• An unrestrained child could be killed in an impact with speeds as low as 5mph
• If properly restrained a child is three times less likely to sustain a head injury in a collision than an unrestrained child
• In 2008 more than 5,000 children under 12 were injured as car passengers on British roads.
Alan Kennedy, chair of RSGB, said: “We’re really excited to be able to announce the launch of Road Safety GB’s national campaign. Children and infants are our most vulnerable road users and an ill-fitted car seat can mean the difference between life and death. The campaign launched this week, and will run throughout England this autumn. Over this period we look forward to helping mums, dads and other carers make sure that their children are safe in the car.
“The Good Egg Initiative has been running in Scotland since 2001 and has helped reduce the number of in-car child casualties significantly. By being a ‘Good Egg’ parents and carers will be helping to keep their little ones safe in the car.”
Cllr Brian Allinson, executive member for planning, transportation and strategic environment, added: “South Gloucestershire has some of the safest roads in the country and we aim to keep it that way. As part of our broad programme of good road safety initiatives, we run workshops on in-car child safety at the district’s primary schools. South Gloucestershire Council is pleased to support the national safety campaign because it reflects our own aims and objectives when it comes to looking after the safety of our younger road users. Our road safety team also welcome the opportunity to talk to our residents and show them the correct way to fit their in-car child safety seats and discuss any general concerns they might have about road safety.”
As part of the ongoing initiative, road safety professionals from South Gloucestershire Council will be hosting a free car-seat check clinic at Asda Cribbs Causeway on 2 November where Mark Bennett of child car seat manufacturers Britax will be on hand to give professional advice, check existing car seats and demonstrate how they should be fitted correctly.
More information on the Good Egg campaign is available on their website at www.protectchildgb.org.uk
Information about road safety schemes run by South Gloucestershire Council is available online at www.southglos.gov.uk/roadsafety
ENDS