VIDEO: Taking car seat safety seriously
JOBURG - A concerned parent has taken heed of the Department of Transport’s call to take car seat safety for children seriously.
Greg Sochen organised a Car Seat Clinic initiative at Minnie Bersohn Nursery School in Morningside Manor.
“We’ve offered free car seat checking to parents dropping off their kids to ensure the correct car seat is installed and that it is installed properly,” he explained.
“We will also collect used car seats for charity.”
He invited Theresa Hamman from Safe2Go and Peggie Mars from Wheel Well to talk to parents about car seat safety tips and assisted them with ensuring the safety of car seats for their children.
Safe2Go sells car seat products and accessories and Wheel Well is a non-governmental organisation that promotes car safety.
Watch this video of Peggie Mars, the founder of Wheel Well inspecting the safety of a car seat at Minnie Bersohn Nursery School in Morningside Manor:
Another concerned parent, Caroline McConnell was shocked when she was apparently ill-advised about the positioning of her car seat by a Metro police officer. She explained that she was stopped at a roadblock in Woodmead when a Metro police officer inspected her vehicle and informed her that the rear-facing car seat for her 10-month-old infant was facing the wrong way.
“She said it was safer for me to have my baby sitting on my lap in the car,” added McConnell.
The amendment of the National Road Traffic Act as quoted on the Arrive Alive website states that as from 30 April this year, the driver of a motor vehicle operated on a public road shall ensure that an infant travelling in a motor vehicle is seated in an appropriate child restraint.
McConnell was particularly worried that the Metro police are giving people who are unaware of what the law is, the wrong information.
No comment regarding the alleged incident was received from the Metro police by the time of publication.
Mars added that the law also states that all children from birth, weighing up to at least 13 kilograms must be in a rear-facing car seat.
It is important for parents to familiarise themselves with the amendment of the National Road Traffic Act regarding car seat safety for young children as well as the various options available to ensure children are safely seated inside a vehicle.
Details: www.wheelwell.co.za or www.safe2go.co.za
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