RSA's 'Check it Fits' service visiting Athlone tomorrow

The Road Safety Authority's 'Check it Fits' service will visit Athlone tomorrow (Wednesday, October 22) to put parents and guardians' minds at ease that their child's car seat is safely and securely fitted in their car.

The roadshow will visit the Top Oil Daybreak Shop in Garrycastle between the hours of 10am and 5.30pm. The walk-in service takes between 10-15 minutes, is free of charge and it is not necessary to make an appointment.

'Check it Fits' is a full-time, nationwide service providing advice on how to fix any car seat problem, demonstrate how to fit the restraint correctly and answer any queries participants might have.

Over half of child car seats (54%) checked by the service were incorrectly fitted and needed some type of adjustment to make them a safe fit. If a child’s car seat isn’t fitted correctly, it could lead to a serious or fatal injury in the event of a collision.

Lead checker for the RSA, Ron Richardson, said some of the child car seats checked are found to be "excessively loose, so as to make the fitting almost ineffective" but that 67% only needed minor adjustments, such as the the fitting being loose or a twisted seatbelt.

"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" said Mr Richardson, who has urged people in the Athlone area to "visit the Check it Fits service In Top Oil Daybreak in Garrycastle tomorrow to give themselves peace of mind that their children are travelling safely.”

See www.rsa.ie/checkitfits for more information.

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