Do you know how to buckle your child up safely?
We have worked on numerous projects with the communications agency Third City and were thrilled when they approached us to undertake some important work on behalf of their client, Sheilas’ Wheels, in the summer last year. In light of a Department of Transport report issued in 2015 which reported that child road deaths had risen by 3% to 53 deaths from September 2013 to 2014, Sheilas’ Wheels commissioned work to investigate the usage of child seats.
We primarily wanted to find out whether child car seats were being used correctly and attitudes of adults towards them. We conducted face-to-face interviews with 100 randomly selected drivers whose cars were equipped with child seats. In order to check whether or not they were fitted correctly we worked alongside certified car safety technicians. Each car was checked to see whether each child seat was installed correctly, incorrectly but safe or incorrectly and dangerous.
Alongside the practical check of the seats installed we also asked several survey questions to the respondents. We wanted to know how confident they felt in the fitting of the seat. What issues, if any they have experienced. What their attitudes to the seats were, for example, when did they feel their child would no longer require a seat? Or, would they risk a short journey without the seat?
The results confirmed Sheilas’ Wheels’ concerns that many parents were unknowingly risking their children’s lives as they failed to install their seats correctly. 1 in 3 (32%) seats were fitted incorrectly and 1 in 10 (10%) of those were dangerously wrong – putting children at high risk of injury should an accident have occurred. Over a third of parents admitted that they struggled with the installation of the seats with half of parents not switching off the air bags when the child seat was in the front passenger seat.
As Elspeth Hackett, Sheilas’ Wheels spokesperson said “it is extremely important to be aware of what type of car seat your child should be in, so they are secure if something happens while you’re driving… many parents make simple mistakes by using the wrong seat or installing it incorrectly, putting their child’s life in danger. Every child seat is different, so installation and use recommendations will differ.”
It was a pleasure to be part of such an important project and we hope that the research will educate more adults in the importance of correct installation of child car seats.
“We have worked with Peter and the team for more than a decade. They are knowledgeable, dedicated and provide a great service. We find them particularly good at raising bespoke samples at a very reasonable cost” – Mark Lowe (Co-Founder at Third City Communications Agency, London).
To check the current regulations on child car seats, visit the government website https://www.gov.uk/child-car-seats-the-rules/using-a-child-car-seat-or-booster-seat.
For further details on this project visit Sheilas’ Wheels website http://www.sheilaswheels.com/parents-risk-childrens-safety-due-to-fitting-child-seats-incorrectly
