Media Release
23 November 2006

ACC supports booster seats for 12-year-olds

Recent concerns about the use of child restraints by children aged up to twelve have been endorsed by New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme – ACC.

“ACC has done a lot of work around ensuring that children under five are correctly restrained when in a vehicle, and as a result we’ve seen a significant decrease in injuries and fatalities from this group. While this is an excellent development, there is still a lot that needs to be done to keep our children aged over five safe when in a vehicle,” states Jennifer Brown, National Manager Public Safety Programmes ACC.

ACC runs free checkpoints and checking clinics as part of their Safe2Go programme. The technicians working at the checkpoints recommend when a child needs a booster seat and have noted that many children stop using booster seats too early, particularly when the booster seat has been passed on to a younger sibling.

Safe2Go is an ACC initiative to train caregivers and community based people in the correct use of child restraints so that these technicians can provide consistent, quality instruction to parents and caregivers. Correctly used child restraints can reduce fatality risk by an estimated 71% and serious injury by 67%.

Children who are not tall enough to sit with their legs comfortably over the edge of the seat when their bottom is in the back of the seat will tend to slouch and slide down under the lap belt. This places the belt over vital organs rather than the bones of the pelvis, creating serious internal organ damage in the event of a crash.

For more information on Safe2Go visit www.safe2go.co.nz

ENDS

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