Child Safety Seats

Recent checks by the Road Safety Unit of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary has revealed the highest ever number of child safety seats correctly fitted. Over a three day period, some 189 checks were carried out in Dumfries, Castle Douglas and Stranraer at pre arranged sites in car parks. Over 66% of the seats checked were found to be correctly fitted with only 15% needing minor adjustments. The remaining 17% either needed major adjustment, were incompatible or were actually condemned.

Speaking after the checks Keith Gunn, Road Safety Officer for the force said “The numbers checked were vastly up over those last year and it was heartening to see such a high level of compliance with the regulations for child safety seats. However there are still a worrying number of people still carrying children in seats which were not correctly fitted or were not actually the right type of seat. I urge any parent or driver who is carrying a child in a car to get in touch for a check if they are unsure about the child seat they are using. Road Safety Officers are available at Dumfries and Stranraer and can be contacted through 0845 600 5701. The check only takes a few minutes and could be the difference between life and serious injury, or even death in the event of a crash”.