Parents warned children wearing a winter coat in a car seat could put your tot’s life at risk
Extra layers can be seriously dangerous as they create a wide gap between the child's body and the seatbelt while in the car
PARENTS are being warned against the dangers of strapping a child wearing a winter jacket into a car seat.
Experts say the extra layers can be seriously dangerous as they potentially create a gap between a youngster’s body and the seatbelt.
This means that if they are in a crash, the harness is not close enough to the child’s body to properly restrain them.
Parents are being urged to strap children in without their coats – and to make sure the harness is done up tightly enough that they can only just get two fingers between their little one and the straps.
Good Egg Car Safety has issued advice for keeping tots warm in the car – including dressing babies in thin layers or folding a blanket in half to tuck tightly around them.
The blanket should not come up any higher than arm pit level.
For older children, parents should remove coats and jackets then also tuck a blanket around them that they can remove themselves.
A spokesman said: “We are the leading car seat checking initiative in the UK and this year we have checked nearly 3,500 car seats for parents and found that across the UK 71 per cent are incorrectly fitted.
“Since 2001 we have checked over 23,500 seats.
“We work with Scottish Government, Road Safety GB, Brake, TRL and many other leading road safety organisations.”
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