Rsa child seat checks

Offaly parents are being urged to have their child’s car seat checked after research from the Road Safety Authority (RSA) revealed that as many as four out of five child car seats are incorrectly fitted nationwide.

Since October 2013, the RSA’s ‘Check it Fits’ Service has inspected over 4,000 child car seats and restraints in Ireland. Of these, 83% required some adjustment. Worryingly, 79% of seats required a major adjustment, of which three percent were deemed not fit for purpose, meaning they could have caused injury or even death in the event of a collision.

To highlight the issue of child safety in cars in Offaly, the ‘Check it Fits’ service team of child car seat installation experts will check child car seats and restraints to ensure they are correctly fitted in Offaly this month.

If a child car seat isn’t fitted correctly, it could lead to a serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision, and so incorrectly fitted child car seats are a significant cause for concern for parents, grandparents and guardians who travel with children.

If your child’s car seat or restraint is incorrectly fitted, the ‘Check it Fits’ experts will advise on how to fix the problem, demonstrate how to fit the restraint correctly and answer any queries participants might have to avoid potential serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes, is completely free of charge, and will give parents and guardians the peace of mind that their child is safe and secure in your car.

The service team will be at Supervalu on Lower Main Street, Banagher, on November 20, Buckley’s Supervalu, Main Street, Birr, on November 25 and at Scally’s Centra, Ardan Road, Tullamore, on November 26. The team will check seats from 10am to 5.30pm.