Free online child car seat safety workshops

Parents, carers and grandparents of young children are invited to attend one of two free online workshops held next week 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. The sessions will be held online via Microsoft Teams, on Tuesday 8 September at 11am and 7pm, and will run for about an hour. The councils' road safety and injury prevention officer Melanie Suitor said the correct selection, installation and adjustment of child car seats is vital to ensure 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 secondhand car seats and much more," she 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." Ms Suitor said local checking day events show that about 80 per cent of the child car seats they 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," she said. "It is so important to ensure your precious cargo is safe." To book your place, use this link: https://bit.ly/WkshopRego, visit the event listing on the councils' Facebook pages or call Ms Suitor on (02) 6861 2364.