TRL seeks RSOs’ help with child car seat project

12.08 | 3 November 2011 | | 5 comments

The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) is asking for road safety officers’ help with a project to establish a national database for child car seat use.

TRL has been carrying out research for the DfT for more than 75 years and the TRL Child Safety Centre (CSC) currently provides evidence and guidance to UK and EC policy makers in the area of transport safety relating to children.

 Marianne Hynd, head of TRL CSC, said: “We have been working with various road safety professionals to establish a national database for child seat use. There are many fit checking clinics held throughout the UK and we are working to coordinate the collection and analysis of the information gained during these exercises.

 “We have developed a questionnaire which we believe captures the essential information needed to allow useful analysis. In parallel with developing the form, we have also constructed the database.

“By collecting this information on a national scale, the intention is to provide analysis of a large dataset to those who contribute data to the scheme.

“The information will help road safety professionals to optimise their strategies for safety advice and will help us feed into future policy regulating child car occupant safety.”

TRL CSC is now making the form available to road safety professionals for use at child car seat fitting clinics, on the understanding that the scanned information comes back to TRL for inclusion in the database.

Click here to download the form, or for more information contact Marianne Hynd on 01344 770 980.

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Order by Latest first | Oldest first | Highest rated | Lowest rated

    Agree with all your comments. My kids both are both still rearfacing in BeSafe seats, aged 4.5 and 2.5. They both love rearfacing, my 4.5 yr old said she preferred it!


    Vivienne Rounsley, Oxfordshire
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    Make rear facing the norm until age 4, and rear facing seats more widely available. Much much safer!


    Vicky, Hull
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    The setting up of a national registrar is something we strongly endorse and welcome; there’s no UK wide benchmark currently and we really do need one.

    The Good Egg Initiative joined forces with RSGB last year to ensure a single co-ordinated campaign across the UK following a decade of campaigning in Scotland.

    Collectively, in the last 18 months alone, our car seat experts will have checked 6,478 child car seats on behalf of Road Safety teams throughout the UK thus providing robust to track and build on.

    We would be pleased to share this with TRL if someone contacts us to discuss it. We have more clinics booked this month and also early next year and some partners are a little unsure which form they now need to use.

    A co-ordinated approach would be useful and we look forward to further discussion in due course.


    Good Egg Team Edinburgh
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    Norfolk Road Safety have been reducing the information that we collect at child seat checking sessions so that it is accurate and relevant. We only need to know if the seat fitting is A) OK, B) Needs adjustment or C) Is unsafe. Anything else is down to the seat seller, car manufacturer or Trading Standards.

    If the seat fits you don’t need any more information. In the past 4 years we have moved from an average 60% fail to a 60% pass rate.


    Steve Jarrett, Norfolk
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    This is much needed, too many parents are totally unaware of car seat safety. I hope they have been in contact with the Good Egg team on this as they have staggering statistics on this matter. Parents also don’t know that rear facing’s five safer even beyond the group 0+ infant carrier, they have no idea that you can purchase group 1 (&2) extended rear facing car seats for their kids in the UK. Awareness needs to be raised of all these issues, our children are not second best and deserve to be kept safe. Good work.


    Linsey, South Yorkshire
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