Cracking start for Good Egg

Road Safety GB’s Good Egg in-car child safety campaign is off to a cracking start with 275 surveys completed in the first week.

The campaign launched in Durham on 6 September to unanimous support from partners and key stakeholders.

As part of the campaign, parents and carers are invited to complete an online survey to win one of 10 FREE child seats provided by Britax and Maxi Cosi.

Early results from the survey show that while 96% of respondents bought their seats new from retailers, 37% described the service they received as ‘poor’. 88% of respondents said they were ‘confident their seat was correctly fitted’, while 23% said they would like to attend a free car seat check.

A typical comment captured in the survey reads: “I have never been asked any of these questions by any of the retailers, and I certainly haven’t ever been shown how to fit a seat into the car (which can sometimes be quite an ordeal).

“I have on occasions worried that one of my children’s seats was not fitted as it should be and have asked my husband to check it.

“I would like to have more confidence and this would be achieved if staff at these stores were trained to help and advise you, not just send you packing with an instruction leaflet.”

Road Safety GB is evaluating how many child seats are fitted correctly at a series of car seat clinics across the UK. In previous tests just 14% of seats were fitted correctly.

Alan Kennedy, chair of Road Safety GB, said: "Most parents and carers are determined to make sure their little ones are safely fitted into a car seat, but there are a worrying number of adults who seem oblivious to the risks a baby or infant faces if the child seat they are in is not fitted correctly.

“Good Egg helps to educate parents and we are delighted with the response the campaign has had to date. The media turn out at the launch was great with TV, radio and newspapers all covering it. The support of the media and our stakeholders is vital in helping to get the message out.

“Staff at Tesco in Durham were really supportive and RSOs from across the north east gave their time to encourage parents and carers to get their child seats checked by our technical expert.

"Dynamic Advertising were also on hand to support the launch – it was a massive team effort and Road Safety GB thanks everyone involved, including our sponsors for their continued support for Good Egg.”

Road Safety GB members who have recently joined the campaign include South Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Calderdale and Telford and Wrekin.

With so many local authorities in England and Wales now promoting ‘Good Egg’ and holding clinics, Road Safety GB hopes the campaign will improve standards of child seat fitting.

Parents and carers can find out where their nearest clinic is by logging onto:www.protectchildgb.org.uk

Click here to read the campaign newsletter.

Click here to listen to the radio ad.

Click here to watch or download the TV ad (Quicktime movie).

Click here to see a selection of photos from the launch.

For more information about the campaign contact Jan Deans at Dynamic Advertising on 07980 851 360.