Transport for NSW (TfNSW) has released car seat guidelines to help parents and carers choose the right child restraints and use them correctly.
Minister for Transport and Roads, Andrew Constance said the Best Practice Guidelines for the Safe Restraint of Children Travelling in Motor Vehicles, which was developed by Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Kidsafe Australia with input from TfNSW, aimed to keep children aged up to 16 as safe as possible while travelling.
“The updated guidelines will help parents make the best car seat choice for their child, while also advising them on how to install them correctly,” Mr Constance said.
“Some of the recommendations include how to choose a car seat for a low-birth-weight baby, and how to travel safely with children when using rideshare vehicles,” he said.
“The guidelines also include a simple five-step process that help determine when it’s safe to move your child from a booster seat to an adult seat belt.”
Mr Constance said that from 2011 to 2020, 13 children and teenagers (under the age of 16) had died, and another 148 were injured in crashes while not properly restrained.
“I have had first-hand experience of the importance of using the right car seat when my family and I were involved in a serious head on crash near Batemans Bay in 2011,” the Minister said.
“My daughter, who was four at the time, wasn’t injured as a result of being in a car seat that was correctly fitted, and appropriate for her age and size, while the rest of us were seriously injured,” he said.
Mr Constance said around half of all child restraints weren’t fitted or used correctly, and he urged all parents and carers to take advantage of the more than 300 authorised restraint fitting stations across NSW.
The 158-page Guidelines, including a plain English summary, can be accessed on NeuRA’s website at this PS News link and a two-page summary of key changes to the Guidelines can be accessed at this link.
