Friday,
20 September 2024
Free online child car seat safety workshops

Parents, carers and grandparents of young children are invited to attend one of two free online workshops being held to provide important safety information about child car seats.

The workshops are being conducted by Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils in partnership with Transport for NSW West Region.

The workshops will be held via MS Teams, on Tuesday 10 September at 10am and again at 7pm, and will run for about an hour.

Council Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said the correct selection, installation and adjustment of child car seats is vital in ensuring children's safety when travelling in vehicles.

"The workshop will cover the National Child Restraint Laws, types of child car seats available, correct installation and adjustment, when to move to the next car seat, accessories, tips for second-hand car seats and much more," Ms Suitor said.

"It will be a great refresher for grandparents, as child car seats and the rules have changed a lot since they had their children, but also for parents and carers as they are navigating their way through their child or children's growth.

"The results of our local checking day events show that around 80 per cent of the child car seats that were checked were incorrectly installed.

"Transport for NSW research shows that children who are not restrained correctly are seven times more likely to sustain life-threatening injuries in a crash than those who are properly secured.

"It is so important to ensure your precious cargo is safe."

The online workshops were the first of their kind in NSW when they were trialed in May 2023.

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"Over 30 local families have attended the online workshops since their inception," Ms Suitor said.

"Participants rated the workshop 4.8 out of 5, said they would be very likely to recommend it to a friend or family member and were glad they had attended."

To book your place, visit the event listing on the Forbes Shire Council Facebook page, use this link: bit.ly/WorkshopRegoSept24 or call Ms Suitor on (02) 6861 2364.