By Ethan Benedicto
With 90 per cent of child car restraints being incorrectly fitted, Kidsafe Victoria held a free fitting event in Casey Fields, Cranbourne East, on Wednesday, 5 March.
To mark National Kidsafe Day, the event began at 10am and lasted until 2pm, with a focus on raising awareness on the critical importance of properly fitted child restraints.
This came after research showed that from 36,000 child car restraint checks across the state, Kidsafe found that 9 out of 10 restraints were incorrectly installed or used.
Likewise, Casey remains in the top five for serious injury and fatal collisions within the state.
Melbourne mum Zoe ten Broek, whose infant son, Jax, was left fighting for his life following a t-bone accident, was also in attendance.
A strong and vocal advocate for child safety, Zoe said that before the accident, installing the child seat was “something that I took upon myself to dive into”.
“But I dove deep, very deep, on how to do it before I even had Jax, and I had a professional install it too.
“It was something that I had a ot of knowledge about before the accident even happened, and I was very confident that I was doing it correctly,” she said.
In 2022, Zoe secured Jax in his rear-facing car seat for what was a routine 20-minute drive to her parents’ home.
Suddenly, their vehicle was t-boned on Jax’s side, leaving the then one-year-old unconscious and suffering multiple seizures.
He was airlifted to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where he underwent four surgeries to treat a fractured skull, torn neck ligaments, and severe head trauma.
Zoe recalled the events as a “crazy” experience.
“I woke up, and Jax had already been airlifted, so my first response was, where’s my baby?” she said.
“It took a whole 24 hours before I saw him, and when I did, I was not prepared to see him in that bed with all those monitors and wires, all the swelling.
“He was barely recognisable as Jax, it was very frightening.”
According to Kidsafe, the risk of life-threatening injuries is four to six times greater when a child’s car restraints are incorrectly fitted or used.
Kidsafe ceo Sarah Sexton said that the demand for professional child car restraint fittings exceeds the current resources.
“Parents and caregivers want to ensure their children’s car seats are installed correctly, but our resources are stretched,” she said.
“Without additional funding, we can’t meet the growing demand for these life-saving checks.
“An incorrectly fitted child car restraints could be a tragedy waiting to happen – the risk of life-threatening injuries is greater, and that’s why we’re calling on the community to help fund more of these essential checks.”
After the accident, doctors told Zoe that Jax’s rear-facing position likely saved his life.
With several weeks in the hospital passing, Jax eventually made a remarkable recovery, and while he has experienced developmental delays, Zoe describes him as “just your average little boy”.
Senior Constable Travis Perkins from Casey Highway Patrol said that the incorrect use of child restraints is a major issue on Victorian roads.
He said that many parents are unaware of the issue and that “small mistakes can have devastating consequences in the event of a crash”.
“During intercepts and random breath testing, we often see incorrectly fitted child car restraints, which is why safety checks are so important.
“Kidsafe offers an invaluable resource as they don’t just ensure the restraint is properly fitted, they also educate parents and carers on how to use them properly,” he said.
Sexton added that with many newly arrived families, they may not be “aware of Australia’s child restraint laws or best practices”.
“This makes education and community outreach essential for their children’s safety,” she said.
For Zoe, being an advocate means that she can play a hand in informing others to not make any mistakes when it comes to their children’s safety.
“There’s no room for error, please double check, it’s something that is so necessary to make sure that it’s done correctly,” she said.
“The hardest part about it all was not knowing whether Jax was going to make it those first two weeks.
“I knew that this is the message that I wanted to spread and wanted all parents to know because if we know better, we’ll do better.”
