Are your children safe? RSA Car Seat checks coming to Mayo after shock stats

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has announced its Check it Fits service will visit County Mayo from 27th to 29th January, offering free child car seat safety checks to parents and guardians concerned about their children's safety on the road.

The initiative comes as new figures reveal a worrying trend: 54% of child car seats checked by the RSA nationwide are incorrectly fitted, potentially putting young passengers at risk of serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision.

Of particular concern, almost a third of the incorrectly fitted seats required major adjustments to make them safe. These included seats being so loose they were rendered almost ineffective, while the remaining 67% needed minor corrections such as tightening loose fittings or fixing twisted seatbelts.

Ron Richardson, Lead Checker for the RSA, emphasized the importance of correct installation. "While the RSA's experience with its Check it Fits service shows that half of child car seats are fitted incorrectly, worryingly, it found that 30% of these needed a major adjustment to fix them," he said.

"Having a correctly fitted car seat is a simple measure parents, grandparents and guardians can take to ensure children are safe while travelling by car. I would encourage people to visit the Check it Fits service when it comes to Mayo and give yourself the peace of mind that your children are travelling safely."

The RSA stressed that parents are not intentionally endangering their children, describing the issue as an education problem. Car seats, while appearing straightforward to install, are often fitted incorrectly due to their sometimes complicated installation systems.

The face-to-face service is free of charge and operates on a walk-in basis with no appointment necessary. Each check takes between 10 and 15 minutes, with the service running from 10:00am to 5:30pm during its visit to Mayo.

Trained experts will inspect car seats, advise on any issues, demonstrate correct fitting techniques, and answer questions from parents and guardians. The RSA recommends that families regularly check their car seat fittings or have them rechecked at Check it Fits services.

For more information on the Check it Fits service and locations, visit www.rsa.ie/checkitfits