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Posted By Fornhelper
Happy St Patricks Day to you all !!
We have a number of Social Work staff who pick up / drop off kids (all shapes and sizes!!) around the local area using their own cars (also all shapes and sizes !!). We do supply safety seats but I am concious that with different cars / different seats / different sized children etc there is potential for putting a square peg into a round hole and seats not being properly secured. The kids we pick up may vary from day to day depending on parents circumstances etc.
We have offered to pay staff to have seats fitted permanently but, again, I am unsure what seats to recommend (we have arrangements for 'special needs children).
Does anyone know a safety seat that 'fits all' or have any advice they could offer, it would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
FH
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Posted By jimmst212
The best systems are those that utilise the ISOFIX system. This attaches the seat directly to the car chasis. However they are expensive and only availible on newer cars.
Sorry, hope it helps a bit though.
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Posted By Brett Day
Another point is taht ISOFIX hasn't been fully standardised (apparently is due later this year), so some ISOFIX seats don't fit all cars and vice versa, the manufacturers can give you a list of what seats fit with thier cars.
Once you have a compatable seat it's afer better than the seats that use to use the seat belt to secure them.
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Posted By Ron Impey
If you were to standardise on using carseats from Britax they have the Fit-finder facility on their website.
http://www.britax.co.uk/
This will help determine if a particular model of carseat can be properly secured in a specific car, and where.
You still need to provide staff with training on how carseats are correctly fitted. There is an excellent CD-ROM produced by Liverpool City Council Road Safety.
If you let me have your e-mail address I will let you have more information.
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Posted By Tony Bish
Regardless of the make and fit of the seat, are the seats and fittings the subject of regular and recorded safety inspections and testing ? Are there also insurance implications to be considered - especially if they are being carried in the social workers own vehicles. In the event of an accident with multiple seat users there may also be some doubt that the retraints had been correctly adjusted for the person in the seat at the time
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Posted By Ron Impey
You also need to consider whether it is safe for the children to be transported without a second adult as escort. There may be individuals who without proper supervision may distract or actively intefere with the driver, or may open doors, or undo their restraint while the car is moving.
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Posted By Paul Bellis
Tony
Quite right -I went through such a scenario with a social services group previously -they were using thier own cars to pick up "disabled" in various forms. They were insured for business use, for themselves - fine but whilst carrying clients in thier own cars, ita a bit different and needs to be clrified wiith the insurance company -there was also issues with children of below a certain age or with mental health problems being adequatly chaperoned etc etc... who says health and safety is easy!
Paul
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Posted By Jayne Dunn
My only experience is with baby seats - if you go to Mothercare they will phone the manufactuers and check which seats fits your car. The manufacturers of the seats will also have a list of cars (make & model) that the seats fit.
Regards
jayne
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Posted By Sheila EJ Keogh
Did you know that new laws are due in this year (May), and all children up to 135 cm (approx 4.5 feet, usually about 11 years old) will need to have appropriate car seat restraints. That means it won't do to allow them to simply use the adult seat belt. Thought this may be relevant to you if the social workers also carry the siblings of disabled etc children. See RoSPA's website for more info, or www.childcarseats.org.uk/faqs/index/htm
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Posted By alan2603
Once again the insurance issue is my concern have all your workers openly declared that they do this kind of transportation to their insurance company.
If the car is involved in an accident and this comes out and it is not declared they will not pay out at all this is a very interesting can of worms.
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Posted By Fornhelper
Thanks everyone....I'd an idea it would be a 'can of worms' when I was asked about it but I always enjoy a challenge anyway.....one of the reasons I like my job so much !!!
FH
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Posted By Stuart Nagle
In respect of child safety seats and child booster seats in cars new rules have recently been introduced, as follows;
Transport
Road Transport
Press Release: New Seat Belt and Child Restraints Rules.
Issuing department: Department for Transport.
Issue date: 27 February 2006.
Announces details of proposed new regulations aimed at improving road safety through more appropriate use of child restraints. The details are outlined in a decision letter following last year's consultation on the proposed changes.
In summary the new requirements, set out in Council Dir 2003/20/EC, are that:
- all children under 3 years old must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in any car or goods vehicle (except in the rear of a taxi if a child seat is not available);
- children aged 3 or more years old and up to 135 cms (approx 4 ft 5 inches) in height must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in cars or goods vehicles fitted with seat belts (few exceptions are permitted);
- rear-facing baby seats must not be used in seats with active frontal air-bag;
- where seat belts are provided, the number of people carried in the rear of vehicles may not exceed the number of seats available fitted with seat belts or child restraints (to apply from May 2009); and
- UN ECE 44.03 or later standard child restraints must be used from May 2008.
Stuart
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Posted By Glyn Atkinson
If children have any special needs or physical disabilities, then it is usual practice in any organised social or education work to have a trained person to be present during any transportation process. Consider a scenario of a child having a fit in the back of a car on a motorway or any busy town street?
My wife works with special needs children and adults in a college training workplace and trained assistants are required at all times, and if transporting from work site to work site, then multiple assistants may be required to achieve an assistant to student ratio established from previous risk assessments and possible one to one care required within the student group.
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