Many parents are unaware of new EU legislation on the use of child restraints in cars, especially with older children, writes Donal Byrne
More than six months have passed since the introduction of new EU legislation covering the wearing of appropriate restraints for children up to the age of 11 in cars, yet a number of experts in the area of safety are expressing concern about the level of non-compliance on this matter.
While many parents seem fully aware of the need for a child seat for an infant, they often seem unaware of the requirement for appropriate restraints for older children.
"Many of the people we stop simply don't know about the law and have little or no understanding of why that law was brought in," says one experienced member of a rural Garda traffic unit.
"I have seen three kids in the rear of a car with one in a child seat and the other two maybe wearing seat belts or maybe not, even though they may be too young to just have seat belts.
"They have little or no protection in the event of a crash and, unfortunately, we see the results all too often.
"There is nothing as distressing as seeing a child badly injured or killed in a car accident," the garda says.
A spokesman for Tony Kelly's company, which provides an expert service in the fitting of infant seats and booster seats at its premises in Walkinstown, Dublin, says there is a degree of awareness among parents since the new regulations came in last September, but still not enough.
"We see it particularly when it comes to moving on from the infant-seat stage - the stage where kids under 150 centimetres in height and weighing less than 36 kilograms still need to be restrained.
"There is a lot of misunderstanding about it and a lot of people are not aware of the law," he says.
Underpinning the introduction of these new laws is the knowledge base built up by studying crashes involving children in cars.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) in Britain says that in a crash at just under 50km/h (or 30mph), an unrestrained child in a car will be thrown forward with a force of between 30 and 60 times their body weight.
"They will be thrown about inside the vehicle, injuring themselves and quite possibly seriously injuring - or even killing - others inside the vehicle. They are also likely to be ejected from the car through one of the windows," a society spokesperson warns.
There is also a great deal of confusion about exactly what type of seats are suitable for children at different stages of development. Rospa has produced a chart showing what is required. (see table right).
Some experts say injuries can be reduced by between 90 and 95 per cent for children properly secured in rear-facing car seats and by 60 per cent in the case of forward facing seats.
However, the term "properly secured" is a vague one, even for people who think that by buying the most expensive car seats they are providing the maximum protection. It is vital when buying any type of seat or booster seat that it fits the car properly and will accommodate both the seating layout and the type of seat belts fitted to the car.
Not every seat is designed to fit every car, and it is important to visit a shop that specialises in car seats and then test that seat in your own car.
The best advice is to simply refuse to buy a seat that does not provide the level of protection and proper fitting that is required to protect a child in a crash.
Another warning - and it does not only come from people in the business of selling car seats - is to avoid accepting a discarded one or buying a second-hand one.
These can be damaged during the course of a heavy working life and the damage may not be initially apparent to you. Also, the technology behind car seats changes often, and a dated one will almost certainly not offer the same level of protection as a newer one.The National Safety Council has issued the following guidelines to the new EU laws, which were brought in last September.
Factfile CHILD SAFETY: using the correct car seat
- New EU laws make it compulsory for all children to travel in the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion
- Where safety belts have been fitted they must be worn
- Children under 3 years of age must not travel in a car or goods vehicle (other than a taxi) unless restrained in the correct child seat
- Children aged 3 years or over who are under 150cm in height and weighing less than 36 kilograms (ie generally children up to 11/12-years-old) must use the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion when travelling in cars or goods vehicles
- Children over 3 years of age must travel in a rear seat in vehicles not fitted with safety belts
- Rear-facing child car seats must never be used in the front passenger seat of cars with an active airbag
- Child car seats must be in accordance with EU or United Nations-Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) standards
- Drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure passengers aged under 17 use the correct seat, booster seat, booster cushion or seatbelt
* Group 0 (0 - 9kg) baby seats are no longer produced.
** Booster seats that only fit into Group 2 or only into Group 3 are no longer produced. They now fit into either Group 2 and 3 (15 - 36 kg) or Groups 1 to 3 (9 - 36 kg).