Mamas & Papas, the national nursery retailer, and road safety charity Brake are now working together during Road Safety Week from Monday 5th November to promote better in-car safety for children around the UK with the aim to reduce that figure further for 2007.

As part of the Working Together to Keep Children Safe campaign every Mamas & Papas store will host talks and demonstrations by local road traffic and fire officers during Road Safety Week on the importance of child car seats and what to look for when buying a car seat. A brand new system of fixing car seats called Isofix that fit newer model cars is being launched at Mamas & Papas this November. Isofix attaches to the mounting points that are integral to the car body and lock the car seat into a safe position, avoiding any further movement or the poor fitting issues that compromise child car seat safety.

Chris Beeley, Technical Director from Mamas & Papas, is one of a group of safety experts within the company that work directly with legislative forums advising and guiding them to improve car seat safety in the UK. Thrilled at the news that car seat recommendations for the over 8�s had resulted in a significant decline he still feels there is still more work to be to done to save more lives,

�Many parents are still confused about car seat law and therefore are taking risks with their children�s safety. This is why we believe that since the new legislation governing car seats in September 2006 came into force there has been an increase in death or serious injury among 0-4s by 4% and among 5-8s by 5% over the last year. This is a small rise in the grand scheme of things but any rise means some family has witnessed a loss or are living with consequences of an accident.

Education is the key and by working with the road safety charity Brake we hope to redress this trend and reduce these percentages by next year. Many road traffic officers have grim accounts of what can happen when there is no car seat or there is a poorly fitted child car seat involved in a collision and there have been recent reports that 70% of child car seats in the UK are badly fitted.

Most worrying is the increase in second hand car seats via online auction sites and these products may not conform to current legislation or could be damaged and no longer viable. There are also some parents that choose to ignore the law or use a car seat that is not suitable for the age or weight of the child. Any car seat is better than no car seat but the best car seat is the one that is compatible for the age or weight of the child. Our store staff have listened to our customers about the fraught time they have convincing a child under 8 or of a low weight to use a car seat when the child feels more grown up using a booster seat. Mamas & Papas store staff will happily advise any confused parents about the age and weight guidelines and always advise that a child should not be using a booster seat until they exceed 25 kilogrammes in weight.

The reality is that using a booster seat at a low age or weight range could result in that child never growing up at all or suffering a serious injury as the result of a collision. Parents must trust the experts and seek the worldly advice of our store staff, many of which are parents themselves and have experienced the same problems, and get support and encouragement they need to keep their children safe.

As we move towards Christmas, with poor weather conditions and more drink driving on the nation�s roads as well as the usual long distance Christmas visits to family and friends, in-car safety becomes a critical issue and all parents need advice and guidance on the right car seats but also how to maintain the integrity of those car seats if moved from vehicle to vehicle or re-fitted by another family member. This is why at Mamas & Papas we are always happy to train grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends of the family on how to fit and use one of our car seats. Our customer commitment does not stop after the sale of a car seat.�

All research is freely available for review at:
Department for Transport website
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