Safety Facts

Children are safest when travelling in the rear of the vehicle.

The driver of the vehicle is the person who’s responsible for making sure all children under 7 travelling in the vehicle must be properly restrained with an Australian standards approved restraint.

It is illegal to use overseas child restraints in Australia.

Child restraints purchased overseas do not comply with Australian Standards and they are not compatible with Australian vehicles.

Australian vehicles have a unique top tether strap anchorage system, which only Australian Standard approved child restraints are compatible with.

A 2009 study by Monash University has found 4 out of 5 childerns are incorrectly buckled in a car restraint.

88% of forward-facing seats were wrongly installed.

67% of capsules or rearward-facing incorrectly installed.

63% of booster incorrectly installed.

The finding are similar to observations from RACV and overseas studies.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/wrong-use-of-car-seats-puts-lives-in-danger-20130823-2shbl.html

Second hand restraints should be used with caution. You should be aware of the history of the restraint and be sure that the restraint has all the appropriate fittings. Any restraint that is more than 10 years old should not be used.

Motor vehicles accidents are the cause of the highest number of deaths in children aged between 0 and 14 years and are the second highest cause of hospital admissions.

ISOFIX car restraints are now available in Australia.  Your vehicle must have ISOFIX to use this system.  Car restraints with ISOFIX can still be fitted with lap seat belt if required.