Child car restraints

Press, 11 May 1984, Page 4

Child car restraints

The Playcentre Federation may ask the Government to impose a standard fee for the installation of child restraints in cars. The federation’s conference, being held at Lincoln College this week, will discuss a remit which says that a standard charge for the installation of child restraints or adult seat-belts in the back seats of cars would enable more people to install them.

The federation’s Weffipgton branch, which putfSor-

ward the remit, said it believed installation costs were unacceptably high, and were one reason why many parents failed to restrain their children adequately in motor vehicles. The installation of a $25 restraint often cost up to $6O, the branch said.

A submission should be made to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Templeton, the remit says. The Wellington branch has also proposed a remit to ask the Health Department

to investigate providing financial assistance for the installation of child restraints.

The conference will continue at the college until Sunday. Workshops will include weaving, dance, and home-made equipment for playcentres, said a co-con-vener, Mrs Pat Penrose. The federation’s branches all worked fairly independently of each other, and the conference was a means of exchanging ideas, said Mrs Penrod.