Second-hand car seats a risk to children, survey claims

ALMOST one third of parents use potentially lethal second-hand car child seats according to a new survey.

The majority of parents don’t know if they have the right seats and upto 50% of parents are unsure of how to fit them.

A spokesperson for the National Safety Council (NCS) said surveys consistently showed that a high proportion of child restraints are incorrectly fitted.

Almost a quarter of the 2,000 British parents who responded to the Mother and Baby magazine survey also admitted their child did not always travel in their car seat.

The NSC spokesperson pointed out in a crash at just 30mph an unrestrained child would be thrown forward with a force 30 to 60 times his/her body weight.

“The child would be thrown about inside the vehicle injuring himself/herself and quite possibly seriously injuring other people inside the vehicle.

The child is also likely to be thrown from the car through a window.”

It was not safe for a child to be held on an adult passenger’s lap either, he said. The child could be crushed between the passenger’s body and part of the car’s interior. It was also dangerous for a passenger to put their seatbelt around a child.

“A properly fitted child restraint keeps the child in his/her seat, preventing him/her from being thrown about inside, or ejected from the vehicle. It also absorbs some of the impact force.”

The AA has been calling for the speeding up of the development of foolproof seats with universal fittings that don’t rely on adult belts.

While most seats are easy to install, some are still difficult to get into the car, had confusing instructions, or straps that were hard to adjust.

An AA spokesperson said any child seat was better than none. Too many children injured each year in accidents had not been belted in at all.

According to the NSC spokesperson, the safest way for a child to travel in a car was in a child seat suitable for his/her weight and size. He also pointed out seat belts were designed for people about 5ft and taller.

“Don’t let a child graduate to using the seat belt on his/her own too soon. Ideally, a booster seat or cushion should be used which will enable the seat belt to go around the child adequately,” he said.