Cambridgeshire: Child Seat Checks

16 February 2013, 06:00 | Updated: 18 February 2013, 09:17

A new series of in-car clinics are being set-up to increase the safety of children in cars in Cambridgeshire.

Cambridgeshire County Council hosted six in-car clinics since November 2012, and found that only 47% of the seats checked were correctly fitted. 

Of the remainder, 34% had minor faults, 12% had major faults and 7% were incompatible to the child or car.  

In tackling this vital road safety issue, the Council adopted the award-winning ˜Good Egg In-Car Child Safety Campaign" to benefit from its proven record of success in significantly reducing casualty rates among child passengers elsewhere in the UK.

Looking at the picture across the UK, the Cambridgeshire County Council area is performing better than the average.

This is based on the UK figure from 2012, which found that out of 2,631 car seats checked, 45% were correctly fitted. 

Out of those that were incorrect, 31% had minor faults, 18% had major faults and 6% were incompatible.

Matt Staton, Road Safety Officer for Cambridgeshire County Council, told Heart: "In speaking to parents at these events it is evident that a lack of awareness is a big problem, with many not realising that car seats do not necessarily fit all cars, or not understanding how tightly the seat or harness should be fitted.

The aim of this campaign in Cambridgeshire is two-fold - to correct any fitting errors and ensure parents leave the events able to check and re-fit the seat themselves, and to arm parents with information about child car seats which they can use in purchasing new seats and pass on to friends and family."

Free car seat checks are being held at the following venues:

  • Bar Hill, Tesco: Thurs 21st Feb (9am-4pm)
  • Cambourne, Morrisons: Thurs 23rd May (9am-130pm)
  • Cambridge, Beehive Asda: Fri 19th Jul (9am-130pm)
  • Ely, Waitrose: Mon 9th Sep (9am–130pm)
  • Huntingdon, Sapley Tesco: Fri 8th Mar ( 9am-130pm) & Fri 20th Sep (9am-130pm)
  • March, Tesco: Thurs 13th Jun (9am–130pm)
  • Milton, Tesco: Fri 10th May (9am-130pm)
  • St Neots, Tesco: Fri 12th Jul (9am-130pm)
  • Wisbech, Asda: Fri 21st June (9am-130pm)