Free Child Restraint Checks

Monday 2 August 2010

Plunket and Tasman District Council are running a free child restraint check at the Moutere Hills Community Centre on Wednesday 11 August between 3pm and 4.30pm.

“Properly fitted child restraints can reduce the risk of serious or fatal injury by as much as 70 percent, unfortunately, these benefits can be lost if they aren’t fitted properly,” says Krista Hobday of Tasman District Council.

During checks run in 2009 it was found that 50 percent of all the seats checked were either incorrectly fitted, not the right size for the child or were out of date.

The checks on 11 August will provide an opportunity for parents or caregivers to bring along their car seats, children and lots of questions. Parents and caregivers will also be able to get advice about setting up seats properly through to when it is the right time to move a child from an infant seat to a child seat to a booster.

 “It would be a shame to have a car seat that wasn’t doing the safest job possible. In most cases, staff on this afternoon will be able to fix problems on the spot, or provide easy fix-it steps and referrals.

 "Everyone is welcome and there are no silly or trivial questions when it comes to the safety of kids in cars.”

 As well as parents and caregivers having the opportunity to have their child seats checked for free they will also be able to experience the Driveway Runover kit.

 “Every two weeks a child is hospitalised with serious injuries received from a vehicle driving on a private driveway in New Zealand,” says Plunket’s Jo Robinson.  A further four children are killed annually, on average, in the same way.

 The Driveway Runover kit is a static display that allows a driver to sit in a regular sized family car and see just how little can be seen out of the back window. It provides a reminder to

  • CHECK for children before driving off.
  • SUPERVISE children around vehicles - always.
  • SEPARATE play areas from driveways.

For further information or comment please contact:

Krista Hobday, Tasman District Council

Ph. 03 543 8551

Email: krista.hobday@tasman.govt.nz

Or

 Jo Robinson

Nelson Plunket

03 539 4323

021 264 7559