Car safety checks in Cumbernauld reveal tot seat hazard

Staff from North Lanarkshire Council’s road safety section visited Asda car park to stage a car safety clinic.

And they discovered that 37 out of 70 child car seat owners had fitted this vital item in a manner which would fail to protect their precious cargo.

The issue can arise if the seat is the wrong type for the child, meaning that the youngster is not being properly shielded from the potentially fatal impact of a road crash.

And that is a message they want to spread to parents, grandparents and carers who may be happy to splurge on a state-of-the-art car seat for their little ones - not knowing that it might prove to be useless in the event of an accident.

David McDove, assistant business manager for roads strategy and safety, said: “Although well-intentioned parents may install a child car seat to keep their child safe, the danger of serious injury is just as great if the seat is not fitted properly or if they have chosen the wrong type of seat for the height, weight and age of the child.’’

Information on how to improve in-car safety can be found on the campaign website on www.protectchild.co.uk