If you are planning a holiday away with the kids, it can be easy to feel relaxed about certain things. However, your child’s safety should not be one of them.
When you organise a Melbourne CBD car rental, or anywhere else in Australia for that matter, ensure you augment this with an appropriate booster seat.
After all, it pays to be prepared. Your car rental company may be able to supply you with one of these safety tools if you are unable to provide it yourself.
These seats are not only for babies and small toddlers, either. Victorian Minister for Roads Terry Mulder issued a statement on January 31 reminding residents – and visitors to the area – of the importance of these devices.
“Children who are using a booster seat are 3.5 times less likely to be seriously injured in a crash than children using a seatbelt,” he said.
Kids under 145 cm tall should be equipped with one of these seats, which may need to be adjusted for the size of your child so they can offer the best protection in the event of a crash.
Neuroscience Research Australia and Kidsafe joined forces to develop a resource designed to determine when your child is ready to sit in an adult seat.
This guide asks five questions and if a child is ready to leave the booster seat behind, the answers to all these questions should be yes.
Questions include whether your child can comfortably sit with their back against the rear of the seat, whether their knees bend in the seat’s edge and whether the seat belt fits comfortably. The sash belt should be on the middle of the shoulder and the lap belt across the hips, touching the thighs. If your child could stay seated in this way for the entire duration of your trip, then they are ready for an adult seat.
Mr Mulder also notes the back seat is the safest and best spot for children under age 12.