Check Your Seat for Summer
Don’t forget to have your children’s car seats checked before Christmas to be sure they are safe and secure when you get on the road this summer.
Often you’ll get tyres and brakes checked, maybe even a get WOF before you head away on holiday. It’s a good idea to add your children’s car seats to the list of things to check in your car before you leave.
One of the main jobs a car seat has to do is to reduce the movement of a child in a crash. If the seat itself can move, then the child within the seat experiences this movement too. This is what a car seat is designed to reduce, but it can only do this if it’s secure. Travelling in a securely installed child restraint gives your child much better protection from the risk of injury.
It’s simple to check if a child restraint is secure enough. To test this, hold the child restraint beside its belt path (this is where it is connected to the vehicle) and pull sideways. If it moves more than just 2.5cm then it is too loose and needs to be reinstalled.
There are other things to consider to make sure kids are kept safe during summer road travel:
- Make sure a child restraint is set up properly for your child - is the harness in the correct position, is the headrest in the correct place?
- Take regular breaks, especially if you’re travelling with young children.
- Ensure loose items in the vehicle are kept to a minimum as these can become projectiles in a crash. And, if possible, use a luggage net over items in the back of a station wagon or SUV to restrict their movement.
Getting a child restraint installed securely and set up properly for a child can be tricky, so it can be a good idea to have your local child restraint technician do this for you. They are likely to be busy in the lead up to Christmas so make contact with them asap. You can find your local CRT here:
https://www.sittight.co.nz/find-a-child-restraint-technician/
Or
#nzcarseatsafetycomms
