vallierojas: Child car seats: factsheet

Monday, September 19, 2011

Child car seats: factsheet

Top tips and advice on choosing, buying and testing car seats

General starting points

Before you take the plunge and buy a seat, it's well worth finding out a bit about the law and the types of things you may need to bear in mind. Even if you plan to go to a retailer who will help you with installation, being equipped with the facts will help you make sure you ask all the right questions.

Here are some good places to start:

? RoSPA's guide to child car seats (childcarseats.org.uk/index.htm) ? tips on how to choose a seat, information on the law and safety standards, and a directory of locally available help.

? Good Egg Guide (protectchildgb.org.uk) ? information on the law, a buying guide, free clinics around the country, and details of retailers in England and Wales who have signed up to the campaign's scheme to offer expert fitting help.

? Good Egg Guide Scotland (protectchild.co.uk) ? as above for Scotland.

Buying a seat

However tempting the price may be, road safety officers advise against buying secondhand child car seats ? most only have a life span of about five years, and if they have ever been involved in an accident they might not offer full protection. Even if you want a bargain, you should buy new.

Many retailers offer fitting services, although as Which?'s report showed these can be hit and miss. To make sure the retailer is giving you the right information, do some homework before you set off, and have a look at Which?'s checklist.

You can also look out for:

? Good Egg Guide retailers 2011 (bit.ly/qXQkiY) lists stores that have signed up to the campaign's charter. It says this is "a sure sign of advice you can trust from a responsible car seat retailer who really does put your child's safety first".

? Accreditation from local road safety officers and trading standards departments.

? Bromley has a retailer accreditation scheme (bit.ly/onGKLh).

If you need a specialist seat ? for example, one for a child who needs to lie flat ? try the In Car Safety Centre (incarsafetycentre.co.uk). It imports seats and offers advice on the phone and online.

Fitting videos

Either before you visit a store, or once you are home, you may want to watch a video demonstrating how to install your chosen seat.

For independent videos try:

? Instructional videos from the In Car Safety Centre (http://bit.ly/nAXOap) ? videos of how to fit the most popular seats made by the centre, plus links to the manufacturers' own videos.

Free clinics around the UK

If you've ordered your seat online, or want to check that a retailer has fitted it correctly, look out for checks in your area. Organisations such as local councils, fire stations and trading standards offices often run checking clinics at local supermarkets. Some also offer a drop-in service.

Check the following for details of clinics around the country:

? Good Egg Guide (bit.ly/c4TOqP).

? Good Egg Guide Scotland (bit.ly/oMD4sS).

We are running our own clinics around the country in the first week of October. Clinics will take place in Wigan, the Wirral, Oxford and Edinburgh.

Hilary Osborne