OVER HALF OF the child car seats checked by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) were found to be fitted incorrectly in the first six months of this year.

The RSA regularly holds its ‘Check it Fits’ service in areas across the country, where parents and guardians can have their child car seats assessed to ensure they are fitted correctly to ensure the safety of their child.

The service is free and is open to all makes and models of cars and child car seats.

Of the 3,282 car seats checked by the RSA between January and June, 53% were noncompliant and found to be fitted incorrectly.

Of the non-compliant seats, 23% had “major safety-critical issues”. The remaining 77% had minor issues that could be resolved at the service.

The RSA has appealed for parents, grandparents, childminders and carers to attend its service, the times and locations of which can be found here, and ensure their seat is fitted correctly.

Even where a seat was originally installed properly, everyday use, moving seats between vehicles, and children growing can all affect how safely a seat performs and adjustments may need to be made, the RSA said.

Clinical specialist neonatal occupational therapist Dr Sara Hope Kift said a proper;y fitted seat offers “vital protection at a time when a child’s growing body is particularly vulnerable in a crash”.

She said there are often “understandable mistakes” with car seats, particularly as children grow, but the consequences “can be very serious”.

“A child car seat is one of the most important safety items a family will ever use, and taking a few minutes to have it checked can make a real difference.”