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Child car seat safety is of utmost importance when it comes to protecting children whilst travelling in a vehicle. In the UK, children must use a child car seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall, whichever comes first. It is essential to ensure that the seat is installed correctly to provide maximum protection in the event of a crash.

To help parents ensure that their child car seats are installed correctly, Carmarthenshire County Council offers free child car seat checking clinics. These clinics are run by accredited child car seat advisors in the road safety team, who can check that:

• The seat is suitable for the vehicle
• The seat is fitted securely in the vehicle
• The seat is appropriate for your child

At these clinics, parents can also receive guidance on choosing the right seat for their child.

In 2023, Good Egg Safety checked 1484 Car seats across Great Britain and found that 65% of child car seats were incorrectly fitted, therefore it is advisable to attend a checking clinic to check your child's car seat is fitted correctly to make sure that your child is as safe as possible while travelling.

Clinic dates:

Accredited child seat advisors are available:

Friday 9th August 2024, 11am – 6pm, Smyths Toys, Parc Pemberton, Llanelli

Common Fitting Errors:

To help ensure your children are travelling as safely as possible, here are the ten most common fitting errors found at previous child car seat checking clinics.

• A slack harness
• A slack seat belt
• A vehicle headrest impeding fit
• An incorrect belt route
• An incorrect harness height
• A twisted harness
• A child seat that’s not attached
• A twist in the seat belt
• The carry handle in the wrong position
• A child too small for the seat

Please arrange an appointment if you feel your child car seat has any of these common fitting errors: roadsafety@carmarthenshire.gov.uk