Two thirds of child car seats are not fitted correctly 
(05/03/2009)
UK law introduced in 2006, actually requires all children travelling in cars to use the correct child restraint until they are either 135cms in height or the age of 12 (whichever they reach first).
According to new research by the AA and Britax, two thirds of child car seats are not fitted correctly and over 83% of drivers are not aware of UK car seat legislation. The research from 16,500 respondents found that only a quarter of all people admitted experiencing difficulty in fitting a child car seat despite evidence that two thirds of car seats are not fitted correctly.
Even more surprisingly, 66% of respondents stated that they didn’t know that the law requires children up to the age of 12 to use a car seat and 80% of them were not aware that UK law requires children under the height of 135cms to use a child seat.
The research also revealed that grandparents had even less awareness with 74% stating that they didn’t know the age the law requires children to use a car seat and 86% didn’t know the minimum height requirements.
With over 25,000 child passengers involved in car collisions each year the AA and Britax urge parents and grandparents to review their child’s/grandchild’s car safety this half term.
And there is a solution - ISOFIX a standard system developed for fitting child seats. The idea is simple – car manufacturers provide small and inconspicuous attachment points in standard locations in new cars which ISOFIX car seats lock directly into reducing the risk of child seats being fitted incorrectly.
The AA estimates at least 6 million cars or approximately 25% of all cars are fitted with standardised ISOFIX fittings. Despite this the research revealed that 74% of drivers were not aware of ISOFIX.
“It’s shocking that despite the great safety advances in child seat design over the past 12 years that such significant numbers of child car seats are still fitted incorrectly,” said Edmund King, president of the Automobile Association. “Our children and grandchildren are our most precious cargo so we must do all we can to keep them safe and keep within the law.”
Ian Watson, Britax European managing director added: “Britax launched ISOFIX technology in co-operation with VW in 1997 and the safety system is designed to minimise installation errors and reduce the risk of misuse through standardised fitting points between child seats and a vehicle. These fittings mean that if you’re moving your child’s car seat between cars, for example, to a grandparent’s car, fitting is easier and there is less chance of a car seat being fitted incorrectly.”
As a result of this research the AA has developed with Britax a range of AA approved car seats from birth to approximately 12 years old, all of which utilise ISOFIX and are available from Mothercare.
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