Calling parents and carers as free child car seat checks return

Parents and carers can have their child car seats checked by a professional for free at events taking place across West Yorkshire.

Fifty dates are being arranged with ten in each district. A qualified safety advisor will check your car seat and assist if any issues are found.

You don’t need to book, anyone wanting to benefit just needs to attend.

Over 1000 seats were checked at similar events last year and around two thirds were found to fitted incorrectly - risking reduced or no protection for children in the event of a crash.
 
Common issues include a slack seat belt, a loose base, the foot prop not being correctly adjusted, incorrect belt route and the carry handle being in wrong position.
 
The events have been organised and funded by West Yorkshire Vision Zero, the region’s road safety partners, and will be run by Good Egg Safety CIC. 

Alison Lowe OBE, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, and Chair of the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Board, said: “The fact that two thirds of children are at risk travelling in unsafe seats is deeply troubling.

“Being a nana myself, I made sure to make use of the Good Egg Safety service and I am very glad that I did.

“We have worked with them for a number of years to run child car seat checking events. I am pleased so many sessions will be taking place in West Yorkshire as part of our work to reduce road deaths and serious injury to zero by 2040.”

Children need a child car seat until they’re 12 years old or 135 centimetres tall, whichever comes first.

Janis James MBE, Chief Executive of Good Egg Safety CIC, said: “Parents and carers go to extraordinary lengths to protect the children they love, yet our national data consistently shows that around two thirds of child car seats are being used incorrectly — often by caring families who simply don’t realise something is wrong.

The encouraging news is that many of the issues we identify can usually be corrected quickly with the support of our highly experienced and accredited Safety Advisors, potentially making a life-saving difference in the event of a collision.

We are incredibly proud to continue working alongside West Yorkshire Vision Zero and its partners to deliver these free community events. They are practical, supportive and entirely focused on helping families travel as safely as possible.

A correctly fitted child car seat offers vital protection if a crash happens. By also working alongside TyreSafe at selected events, we are supporting the wider Safe System approach — helping families stay safer both inside and outside the vehicle.”

A number of the events will also have TyreSafe in attendance offering free tyre checks. They check the pressure, tread and overall condition of your tyres and offer advice as needed. 

Stuart Lovatt, TyreSafe Chair, added: "Keeping children safe on our roads includes making sure the whole vehicle is safe for the journey ahead.

“At TyreSafe, we know that tyres play a vital role in protecting families, yet many drivers are unaware of issues with tyre pressure, tread depth or overall condition that could put them at risk.
 
“We are pleased to support these events alongside West Yorkshire Vision Zero and Good Egg Safety, giving parents and carers the opportunity to have both their child car seats and tyres checked free of charge. These simple checks can provide reassurance and help families travel more safely every day.”

You can find out more about the events on our child car seat check webpage.