Good Egg Safety Keeping Scottish Children Safe –

1. Good Egg Safety Keeping Scottish Children Safe – The rate of incorrect fitment on child restraints, and why so many are not fitted correctly

2. What is Good Egg Safety? A national child car seat campaign We have been running since 2001 We have had continuous support from Road Safety Scotland since 2002 Checked more child car seats than any other organisation – over 22000. In our checks there has been a 43% growth in incorrect fitting over last 5 years Last year in Scotland, 64% of seats were incorrectly fitted

3. Our Aim… To reduce the number of children who are killed and seriously injured on Scottish roads each year We aim to reduce the number of children who are killed or seriously injured by: Raising awareness of the dangers of travelling with un-restrained, or incorrectly restrained children. Reduce the number of major errors made on child car seats Educating parents so they can make fully informed choices Raise awareness of the safety benefits of keeping babies and children rear facing for longer Providing opportunities for parents to have their car seat checked Raising awareness of the dangers of buying second hand, and the importance of buying from knowledgeable staff

4. What are the problems?

5. In Scotland last year, 64% of child car seats were incorrectly fitted. There are a number of reasons why a child seat may not be fitted correctly, however, the overriding reason is that Parents, Grandparents and Carers are not aware of how to correctly fit and use a child car seat. There is a distinct lack of information available to parents and carers when buying a child seat. Many do not realise that not every seat fits every car (even ISOFIX restraints), and simple oversights of dangers, such as strapping a child in while wearing a puffy coat, or failing to pull the seat belt tight enough – which all put the child occupant in danger during a collision. Parents love and care about their children, and they buy and use a car seat because they want their children to be safe. The problems

6. Common ways to purchase a seat There are three common ways parents and carers buy a child car seat: Online Retail Store Second Hand The following slides will look into the dangers of each method of purchase.

7. Online • Many Parents choose to buy online for ease of the purchase, or to get a good deal. • However, when buying online: • Parents/Carers receive no/little advice • They do not know if the seat is compatible to the vehicles it will be used in • They do not know if the seat will be compatible to the child, as many parents go by the age approximation, over the weight limit. • There is no trained professional to help the Parent/Carer to fit the seat.

8. Retail Stores You would hope that buying from a retail store with trained staff members would automatically mean that you will buy the correct seat for the car and child. However, this is not always the case. Good Egg Safety has recently undertaken a Scotland wide mystery shopping program, using funds from Scottish Government. Our mystery shopping highlighted that 75% of retail stores in Scotland are failing to give the correct advice. We expect stores who are selling and profiting from child seat sales to provide an advice service, so the customers child will be safely restrained.

9. The Good Egg Retailer Charter The Good Egg Retailer charter allows customers to look up a store near them, who has passed a Good Egg Safety mystery shop The retailers who pass the mystery shop are listed on the retailer charter and advertised for free. They also receive an approved retailer pack, which includes free guides, window sticker and leaflets. The retail stores who fail are contacted, and we work with them on where they need to improve. We then mystery shop 3-6 months later.

10. Questions staff should ask: What does the child weigh What height is the child (particularly important with new iSize seats!) What car will the seat be used in? Will the seat be used in any other cars, and what are those cars? Do those vehicles have ISOFIX? Staff members who work to best practice should also: Advise that a child is safest travelling rear facing, to allow a customer to make a fully informed choice about their child’s safety. Fit the seat in the rear, and highlight the airbag if fitting in the front Demonstrate the seat to the customer

11. Second Hand Many Parents are aware that buying a child seat second hand is dangerous and avoid doing it. However, some families truly feel as though they have no choice. Buying a child seat from an unknown source is akin to handing your child over to a stranger. A Parent simply would not allow a stranger to look after their child, without full vetting of the individual first. Using a seat with the history unknown, is taking a strangers word for it that your baby will be safe. There are many dangers with buying a second hand car seat from a stranger: It may have been involved in a collision It may be damaged Parts may be missing The instructions are often missing

12. How can these problems be tackled?

13. Continued education about the importance of buying a child seat new Highlight the dangers of not knowing the history of a seat Ensure parents are aware of the dangers of second hand seats

14. Making sure staff give the right advice at point of sale Ensure that Good Egg Safety retailer guidelines are followed Ensure parents buy from retailers who are listed on The Good Egg Retailer Charter Investment in staff training Good Egg Safety and TRL have developed new, independent training for Road Safety Professionals and Retailers that will equip them with the knowledge they need to be able to check and fit car seats correctly.

15. Ensuring there are places parents can have their car seat checked Good Egg Safety offer free child car seat checking throughout Scotland. This allows parents to have their car seat fitment and use checked, regardless of where they bought it from Ideally, there would be a network of professionals who are able to check child restraints. Road Safety Professionals can attend Good Egg Safety and TRL training which will equip them with the knowledge of how to check child car seats

16. Can You Help? We are launching the 2015 child seat checking road show, which will travel all over Scotland from Monday 8th June. We would hugely appreciate any support of the Road show, from tweeting about clinics, to social media posts encouraging parents to have their car seat checked!

17. 2015 Initiative Launch in Edinburgh on Monday 8th June 45 checking events across Scotland including 10 Police enforcement days 16 car seat giveaways on social media and through online survey Second phase of mystery shopping retailers Various press releases during campaign Promotion of new advert New parent pamphlet distributed through Emma’s Diary GP packs.

18. Key online platformswww.goodeggsafety.com Help us to promote: • Advice and tips on choosing and fitting car seats • Seat selector tool • Retail charter • Road show schedule • Common errors • Ask the expert section • Competitions • Parent downloads

19. Key online platformsNEW Advert Help us to promote: • NEW Parent advert • Advising parents to ensure their child’s car seat is correctly fitted. www.goodeggcarsafety.com Almost 5000 views on Youtube since launch 2 weeks ago.

20. Key online platformswww.goodeggsafety.com/blog Help us to promote: • Sign up to mailer function • New Blog item at least once per week • Written by child car seat experts • Top tips on everything car seat safety • Latest news Currently 4000+ subscribers

21. Key online platformsFacebook/scottishgoodegg Help us to promote: • Active parent community • Daily posts • Car seat giveaways • Latest news • Road show schedule • Ask the expert messaging Almost 5000 followers UK/Scotland combined

22. Key online platformstwitter/goodeggsafety Help us to promote: • Active parent community • Active professional following • Latest news Previously listed as #15 out top 500 Health & Safety organisations on Twitter. Almost 1400 followers UK/Scotland combined

23. Thank You! Any Questions?