Keeping Children Safe in the Car

When you think of child car safety, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a car seat. The law says that children have to use the correct child car seat until they are either 12 years old or 135cm (whichever they reach first). There’s a variety available for each stage in your child’s development and size, so with the right purchase you can make sure your child is travelling safely and legally.

Don’t rush your decision when buying a car seat. Be sure to find one that fits both the weight and size of your child and can be easily secured in your car. You can usually test them before you buy them, but if not, make sure there is a return policy in case it doesn’t quite fit properly. Read the instructions fully when installing to ensure the seat is fitted correctly and safely.

Up to 13kg, your child should be placed in a rear facing baby seat. This gives extra support to the baby’s head, spine and neck – but only if they are small enough to fit inside. These seats are designed to sit in both the front and back of the car but it is advised to only use the front seat if absolutely necessary. If this is the case, switch the passenger airbag off.

Forward facing child seats are designed to offer protection to children weighing 15-28kg. They can be locked using ISOFIX seat child seat mounting points, which is a safe and easy way of installing child car seats.

Booster seats are for children weighing 25kg or more. As the name suggests, they ‘boost’ the child’s height so that the seatbelt is fully effective and fits them in the right position. They are also useful if your child often gets lifts from other parents, as boosters are lightweight and can be carried around easily. Note these are only suitable if the rear seats have head rests to offer suitable protection to the child.

Cars can get super hot, especially on a sunny day. Children can overheat easily, but you can protect them from the heat and glare of the sun by installing window blinds. They are cheap, effective, and easy to attach, and will put your mind at rest on hot days so you can focus on driving.

Children winding down the windows is a danger as they could climb out of the car or get a limb trapped. Having your window locks for the back of the car switched on prevents this, and also makes sure the window blind does not fall out.

Finally, adjust your rear-view mirror so you can see both the road behind you and your child. If you cannot see both there are additional mirrors and accessories you can buy to increase your view of the back seats.

In Britain, unsafe tyres are a significant contributory factor to over 1,000 road traffic collisions each year. It’s also thought 1 in 4 child carers are driving with poorly maintained tyres.

It’s therefore really important that you check your tyres regularly. Follow these simple steps to make sure your tyres are in good health:

• Check for damage including cuts, tears, slashes and bulges. If you see anything untoward, get them checked by a professional.
• Check the pressure at the recommended manufacturer level. If it’s too low or even too high, this will reduce the ability of the tyre to grip the road.
• Check the tread depth of each tyre individually. Place a 20p coin at various places in the tread, if you can see the outer edge, it’s time to replace the tyre.
• You should aim to perform these checks once every couple of weeks, to make sure your tyres are in tip-top condition.