Is your child travelling safely in your car? Mike Laycock reports on how child car seats are not always as safe as they seem - and how parents can put their minds at rest

You may think your son, or daughter, is safe.

After all, you bought a child's car seat made by a reputable manufacturer, and you now strap your youngster in it every time you go out together in the car.

But research shows that many such seats would fail to protect children in an accident because they are incorrectly fitted.

"Recent checks have shown that a majority of child car seats are improperly fitted," says Ken Spence, City of York Council's road safety officer.

"A significant number would increase the risk of injury to children in the event of an accident."

He says that in some cases, people buy seats which will simply not fit in their particular car.

In others, the car seat belts are not used correctly to anchor the seat effectively.

With the inertia reel belts used in cars nowadays, it is vital to ensure the belt is pulled very, very tightly around the seat to ensure it stays tight and the seat cannot wobble. If the belt is not fitted correctly around the frame, the buckle can also snap when the car is in a major impact.

Another danger can arise when child seats are fitted on the front passenger seat, if there is an airbag fitted in front.

If the child seat is facing forwards, the expanding airbag can slap the child in the face very hard. If the seat is facing backwards, the airbag can force the back of the seat to hit the back of the child's head, with potentially lethal consequences. "There was a recent case of a child being killed when this happened," said Mr Spence.

But now the council has teamed up with North Yorkshire Police, Selby and York Primary Care Trust and Mothercare to promote Child Safety Week - which runs until Sunday - by offering free safety checks at Clifton Moor on Saturday.

Specially trained staff will be available to check seats and offer advice to concerned parents and carers.

A similar advice session was held at the same location yesterday. Mr Spence said the first two parents to ask for safety checks both discovered there were problems with their child seats.

"The child was too small for it, " he said. "It was more of a booster seat for a three or four-year-old than a child seat for someone 18 months old, even though the label said it was suitable for nine months upwards. She had bought it by mail order without anybody being available for advice."

The next parent discovered the belt was not fitted correctly around her child's seat, so that it could not be tightened properly and the seat would move too far in an accident.

The checks will be offered in the car park near Mothercare World at Clifton Moor on Saturday, between 9am and 1pm.

Updated: 10:59 Thursday, June 20, 2002