Offaly parents can check if their car seats are fitted correctly next week
Offaly parents can have their childrens' car seats checked by the RSA in the county next week.
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.
The RSA have announced that their face-to-face child car seat checking service – Check it Fits –is back on the road visiting locations around the country after a two-year absence due to the Covid 19 pandemic and is coming to Westmeath, Laois and Offaly next week.
In Offaly, the service will be available from 10am to 5.30pm on Friday, April 29 at the Bridge Shopping Centre carpark.
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 commented: “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.
"For example, the seat being excessively loose so as to make the fitting almost ineffective. 67% 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 County Westmeath, Laois and Offaly and give yourself the peace of mind that your children are travelling safely.”
The service takes between 10-15 minutes and runs from 10.00am – 5.30pm, it is free of charge and offers parents and guardians reassurance that their child is safe while travelling in the car.
For more information on Check it Fits visit www.checkitfits.ie. The Check it Fits service is a walk-in service, just arrive on the day between 10:00am – 5:30pm.