'Buckle Up Kids' - A Free Child Restraint Checking Program

MELBOURNE – July 20, 2012: Holden will spread the word about the importance of child restraint safety and its free checking service, Buckle Up Kids, at a brunch with mum bloggers in Melbourne tomorrow.

Under the Buckle Up Kids program, parents and care givers are offered free child restraint inspections at events hosted by child care centres in Victoria and South Australia, with the program to launch in Queensland later this month.

Vehicle owners are provided with a full inspection of child restraints in their vehicle by a professional fitter, along with verbal feedback, a completed feedback form, and easy-to-follow instructions on how to rectify the fitting of the restraint if required.

Through the delivery of this program Holden aims to help educate parents and care givers on how to correctly fit and make adjustments to child restraints, and offers this free service to owners of all vehicles, not just Holdens.

Kristi Beaglehole, Internal Communications and Community Relations Advisor, says Holden has had a terrific response to the Buckle Up Kids program since its launch in February last year, and the take up of this free service continues to grow.

“Buckle Up Kids fitters have inspected more than 250 child restraints this year, and some child care centres are now booking their second or third Buckle Up Kids event since the program commenced.

“When it comes to demonstrating the value of the program, the statistics speak for them themselves. More than 90% of the restraints Buckle Up Kids fitters inspected this year required some form of rectification.

“The fitters tell us the most common problems they observe requiring attention are the correct fitting and adjustment of the harness straps, anchor (tether) strap, and seat belts,” Kristi said.