THINK! team launches car seat campaign in wake of worrying research

New research from the DfT has highlighted that not all parents are using appropriate child seats in their cars.

The DfT's THINK! road safety campaign is urging parents to use child car seats or boosters for their children until they are at least 11 years old or 150cm tall (roughly five feet).

This reduces the risk of injury to children in the event of an accident and is the best way to protect them when travelling by car.

The advice comes as new research issued last week shows that many parents stop using child car seats far too soon. Key findings included:

• 63 per cent of parents stopped using child car seats for their children when they were aged six or younger
  
• One in 10 parents had stopped using child car seats for their children by the time they were three years old
  
• Only 41 per cent of parents of children aged 7-9 and just 26 per cent of those with children aged 10-11 said that their child always travels in a child car seat.

In 2002, 35 children aged 0-11 were killed and 480 seriously injured while travelling in cars.

"Children travelling in cars need to be in a purpose built child car seat or booster until they are either 11 years old or 150cm tall," said Marianne Le Claire, head of child safety research at TRL (Transport Research Laboratory). "Adult seatbelts will not fit them properly and will put them at higher risk of injury, in particular to the chest, lungs, abdomen and spine, in comparison to a purpose built child seat."

To promote the use of child car seats THINK! launched an advertising campaign on 14 April focusing on the fact that children up to 11 still need child car seats. The ‘broken toy’ press advertisements will appear in women's press, parenting titles and TV listings magazines.

Britax, the child car seat manufacturer, has also linked with the THINK! campaign to ensure that advice leaflets on safe child car seat use are supplied with every Britax child car seat. The promotion with Britax will run from April until June 2004.

To order copies of the leaflet phone 0870 1226 236 and quote TINF914.

To find out more about the dangers of travelling without safe and appropriate restraints visit the Think! campaign's new web based simulator at www.thinkseatbelts.com.

Advice is also available from www.childcarseats.org.uk, a website run by RoSPA.