A recent child car seat check in Pembrokeshire revealed that less than 15 per cent were fitted correctly.
Pembrokeshire County Council Road Safety Unit examined over 150 seats in a three-day initiative at Haverfordwest, Pembroke Dock and Fishguard. Child car seat specialists John and Fran Vickery found only 13 per cent were fitted correctly.
Clr. Jamie Adams, cabinet member for highways and transportation urged parents to ensure their children's car safety seats were fitted properly. "It's important that children are safely strapped into their parent's vehicles on all journeys," he said. "Seats must not only be correctly fitted, but also appropriate for the child's weight and height."
The recent initiative, which was sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government, was part of a national campaign highlighting concern about the incorrect fitting of many child car safety seats.
Nearly 200 babies and toddlers are killed or seriously injured in car accidents in the UK every year, mostly on local journeys at low speeds. Since September 2006, the law requires that all children should have the appropriate child restraint from birth until 12-years-old - or when they reach four-foot five in height, whichever comes first. Local parent Jenny Shales praised the initiative and the advice she was given.
"I didn't expect the checks to be so thorough and helpful," she said. The Road Safety Unit is grateful to Haverfordwest and Pembroke Dock branches of Tesco for allowing their car parks to be used for the safety checks.