Child seats: campaigns, worrying statistics and important information

Road safety campaign urges parents to know the law to keep children safe

A worrying 26% of parents admitted to using a car seat that did not fit properly

An annual campaign by the road safety charity Brake is calling on all parents to ‘wise up’ after a survey revealed that only one in four parents know the law on child seats, potentially putting thousands of young lives at risk.

Last year the campaign saw 17,500 children take part in Beep Beep! Days in nurseries, playgroups, and child groups up and down the country. These special days are all about raising awareness of the dangers of the road and emphasising to parents the responsibilities they have in protecting their children..

The charity hopes to build upon the success of last year by encouraging more people to hold a Beep Beep! Day, in order to spread the word to parents, and to teach children road safety basics from a young age.

There were some shocking statistics uncovered from Brake’s survey of 1000 parents:

5% of parents admitted to never using a car seat
26% have used a car seat which did not fit properly
47% don’t always check to ensure their child uses an appropriate child seat when travelling in someone else’s car.
27% have used a second hand child seat – not recommended by experts

Every year, 700 children under the age of 8 are killed or seriously injured on the UK’s roads. Due to their size, children are the most susceptible to be thrown from their seat in an accident if they are not strapped in properly, in even the slowest and lowest-impact collisions. Child seats and booster seats are able to play a key part in significantly bringing this number down if they are used properly.

Child Seats & The Law

Children must use a car seat until they are 135cm tall or 12 years old.
The type of car seat you buy will depend on the weight of the child.

Type of seat	Weight
Rear-facing baby seats	Babies up to 13kg
Forward or rear-facing baby seats	Children from 9 to 18kg
Forward-facing child car seats (booster seats)	Children from 15 to 25kg
Booster cushions	Children over 22kg

Only cars seats that are EU-approved can be used in the UK. Make sure it has a Capital ‘E’ on the label.
Only fit a child seat with a diagonal strap seat belt, unless it has been specifically designed for a lap belt.
Always switch off the front passenger air bag if your child uses a rear-facing chair.
There are exceptions – a car seat is not legally required in minibuses, taxis or unexpected, necessary journeys over a short distance.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake commented: “Every year, more than 700 young children are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Every year, more than 700 young children are killed or seriously injured on our roads

These sudden and violent events end lives that have barely begun, and devastate whole families and communities, who struggle to come to terms with such senseless harm being inflicted on a young child.

“They are not accidents we must learn to live with: every child death and serious injury on roads is preventable. It's vital that parents, carers and of course the wider driving public understand how best to protect children on roads, and worrying to find common misunderstanding about child car seats.”

Arnold Clark is a proud sponsor of the Good Egg Safety Scheme, a campaign to help keep drivers and other road users safe when using the UK’s roads. As part of this, Arnold Clark offers advice to parents buying a car seat.

View our car seat advice