Maria Lakes

Maria Lakes, a partner at Tracey Solicitors LLP and the mother of two children, has encouraged fellow parents to take advantage of free checks offered by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The RSA’s “Check It Fits” roadshow service provides free checks on child car seats to ensure they are correctly fitted.

Last year, the RSA found that 54 per cent of child care seats were fitted incorrectly, with 20 per cent of these needing major corrections because of errors such as seatbelts incorrectly routed and excessively loose fittings.

In an article on the firm’s website, Ms Lakes said: “I know from my own experience that a child seat can accidentally become unfastened.

“It could be from something as simple as another child unclicking the seatbelt that is fixing the child seat in place. Or perhaps the seat may not have been properly fitted in the first place — it is easy to get it wrong.

“Child seats are absolutely essential for preventing serious injuries, so I would recommend that anyone who has a child seat in their car to double-check it is secure before every single journey.

“Even small mistakes can have an impact on the safety of the seat and the child using it.

“I would also encourage taking the time to get your child seat assessed at one of the Check It Fits roadshows, or if this is not possible, at one of their virtual appointments — it’s worth it for the peace of mind of knowing your child is safe in the car.”