Good Egg Safety has teamed up with the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to provide a training course aimed at improving child car seat usage in the UK.
The course follows an alarming discovery that seven out of ten child car seats are either:
- Fitted incorrectly, or
- Incompatible with the child or car.
These results were found after Good Egg Safety compiled data at car seat checking events across the UK this year.
3,000 car seats tested
Of 3,000 car seats tested in England and Scotland, 71% were either incorrectly fitted or incompatible. The figure was slightly higher in England, where 77% were incorrectly fitted, compared with 62% in Scotland.
‘Simply appalling’
Jan James, CEO of Good Egg Safety was very concerned about the findings, calling them ‘simply appalling’.
We caught up with Jan to find out a little bit more about Good Egg Safety’s decision to partner up with TRL following the discovery.
Jan said: ‘We were delighted to partner with TRL for this new accredited training programme because they are world class leaders in child seat testing and research.
Course aims for a safer future
The course has been designed to combat a lack of knowledge among parents, which seems to be the main issue surrounding poorly fitted child car seats.
The one-day Advanced Child Seat Training Course is CPD (continuous professional development) accredited, and includes a 30-minute assessment at the end of the day.
The course covers nine areas:
- Theory and practical
- Why do we need child seats?
- Understanding the correct way to install and use
- Key areas to look out for (misuse)
- Understanding the sizing of the child seat
- Typical terminology
- Common design features
- What we have learnt through research and testing
- The future of child seats (i-Size)
Who is expected to take the course?
The course is designed for retailers, road safety professionals and child safety advocates.
Earlier this year, Good Egg Safety found that 65% of retailers were failing parents on child car seat advice during mystery shops at leading retailers across the country. The option to take an accredited course will surely be of great advantage to improving this figure for next year.
TRL understands parents’ frustrations
Tanya Robinson, Child Safety Centre Manager at TRL, said: ‘Choosing and installing the right car seat can be a minefield for parents, so it’s vital that they are getting the right advice from retailers, manufacturers and road safety professionals. That’s exactly what the training course sets out to do.’
For more information on legislation surrounding child car seats in the UK, view the following video; with advice from Kat Furlong from Good Egg Safety.