Road safety officers at Peterborough City Council are urging all parents to ensure they conform to new regulations governing the use of child car seats that come into force on 18 September.

 

The new regulations mean that drivers can no longer use an adult seat belt to restrain children aged from three to 12 years or up to 135 cms in height. 

 

The Department for Transport is running a national advertising campaign from next Monday (24 July) until the third week in September on national radio, Sunday newspapers, magazines and online.  The city council road safety team will also be publicising the new rules at various events and through local organisations during the summer.

 

The current law broadly states that children aged from three to 11 years and under 150 cms in height must be restrained in a correct child seat if one is available.  Alternatively the child should use an adult seatbelt.  Under the new regulations children aged from three to 12 years up to 135 cms in height must have a correct child restraint with few exceptions. 

 

City council road safety officer Clair George said:  "When a vehicle is involved in a crash any unrestrained occupants will crash with devastating force into the vehicle structure.  Restraint systems are designed to prevent people from being injured against the vehicle structure.  They also distribute the forces of a crash over the strongest parts of the human body, with minimum damage to the soft tissues.

 

"The three point seat belt system is designed for adults and not for children, who are proportioned differently and their key organs are in different places.

 

"Children's tissues have different strengths and weaknesses and their needs change as they grow.  Therefore, they need a child restraint system to cope with the different stages of their development."

 

If you require any further information on the new regulations please visit www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/childcarseats/childcarseats.htm  or contact the Road Safety Team (01733) 453576.