RSA's free Check it Fits Service to visit Offaly this week

With research by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) finding that over half of all child car seats are fitted incorrectly, the Free Check it Fits Service is back on the road and is set to visit two locations in Offaly this week.

The Free Check it Fits Service, which is operated by the RSA, will visit the Bridge Shopping Centre in Tullamore tomorrow (Tuesday, October 3) and Tesco in the Clonmullen Industrial Estate in Edenderry on Wednesday, October 4. The operating hours of the service at both locations will be from 10am to 5.30pm.

The service takes between 10-15 minutes, is free of charge and offers parents and guardians reassurance that their child is safe while travelling in the car. It is a walk-in service, no appointment needed.

Over half of child car seats (56%) checked by the Road Safety Authority’s Check it Fits service were incorrectly fitted and needed some type of adjustment to make them a safe fit. If a child’s car seat isn’t fitted correctly, it could lead to a serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision.

Car seats may seem simple to install, but the installation is often easy to get wrong. The RSA have found that almost a third of seats fitted incorrectly needed major adjustments.

Aisling Sloyan, Senior Road Safety Promotion Officer for the RSA

“While the RSA’s experience with its Check it Fits service shows that half of child car seats are fitted incorrectly, worryingly, it found that 30% of these needed a major adjustment to fix them" said Aisling Sloyan, Senior Road Safety Promotion Officer with the RSA.

She pointed to the fact that the seat can be "excessively loose so as to make the fitting almost ineffective" and added that 67% of the adjustments made by the RSA were "minor adjustments, for example, the fitting being loose or a twisted seatbelt."

"Having a correctly fitted car seat is a simple measure parents, grandparents and guardians can take to ensure children are safe while travelling by car. I would encourage people to visit the Check it Fits service when it comes to Offaly and give yourself the peace of mind that your children are travelling safely” said Ms. Sloyan.

The RSA points out that 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.

Visit www.rsa.ie/checkitfits for more information