Monday 22 May: The NRMA is calling on the NSW Government to fund the cost and professional installation of child restraints for low income and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families following new research that highlights the cost burden on families.
A survey of 804 NRMA Members with at least one child under the age of seven who have pur-chased a car restraint found 16 per cent were forced to cut back on other expenses in order to afford a child restraint and 63 per cent found the purchase stressful.
More than one-quarter (26%) of respondents shopping for a child restraint said they were more ex-pensive than they were expecting.
NRMA Road Safety Expert Dimitra Vlahomitros said 76 per cent of respondents paid over $200 for a child restraint and for many low income families this cost could be prohibitive.
“Families with more than one child may be under pressure to graduate children early out of the right sized restraint and often into an adult seat belt, and this can put the child at risk in the event of a crash,” Ms Vlahomitros said.
“Children from disadvantaged backgrounds and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are over-represented in crash statistics. The NRMA is prepared to work with the NSW Government and other community groups to ensure every parent is able to leave the hospital with their child in a suit-able and properly fitted restraint.
“This isn’t only about keeping babies safe. Children must be in an appropriate restraint until seven and beyond which typically means families will need to buy two seats.”
More than half of NRMA Members who responded (54%) said safety was their priority when select-ing a restraint, followed by price (15%).
A NSW Ombudsman review into the deaths of 66 children found that more than half (35) were not properly restrained and almost a third could have been saved if they were properly restrained.
“The NRMA is also calling on the NSW Government to support making free child restraint fitting and checking more accessible through councils, particularly in regional communities where there is also an overrepresentation of road fatalities,” Ms Vlahomitros said.
“For families to have a restraint professionally fitted, our Members have told us this can cost an extra $40 to $80 and our research showed Members in regional areas were less likely to have their re-straint professionally installed (34% compared to 45% in Sydney).”
For more information or to read the Fund Child Seats report visit: https://www.mynrma.com.au/community/initiatives/fund-car-seats
