Garda Car Seat Safety Initiative (Operation Paisti)
Garda Car Seat Safety Initiative (Operation Paisti)
Devised by Sergeant Dermot O'Connell of Killarney Garda Station, Operation Paisti is an awareness campaign around Car Seat Safety. The aim of the campaign is to address the serious lack of awareness among motorists about how to restrain children correctly and safely in vehicles.
The interactive road safety campaign involves working with local schools and the media, in order to get safety information to as many as possible and to make it easier for parents and children to understand the safest way to restrain children in cars. Legally in Ireland a child car seat is required until a child is either 150cm (4.92 Ft) or 36kg (5.67 Stone): this is approx to 12 years old. The penalty for this offence is 3 penalty points and a fine of €60.00.
How you can help?
As the main aim of our company Rearfacing.ie is to increase the awareness of the safety benefits of using Rear Facing car seats for longer and then continue to keep kids travelling safer by progressing to next stage High Back Booster seats, we are thrilled about this initiative and wish to add our support. Based both on the feedback we have received from the public and what we have observed, car seat usage as a whole is a very serious issue in Ireland.
Sergeant Dermot O'Connell has provided the poster that was generated for the campaign and kindly agreed that it can be shared.
Feel free to download, print, share and display this poster in your local schools, creches, childminders, workplaces etc. and share on social media so that this important message can reach as many people as possible.
For link to English/Gaeilge PDF copy of this poster, click here.
For link to Rearfacing.ie PDF on why Rear Facing car seats for longer are safer click here.
Expanding Operation Paisti
The campaign was initially implemented through the Garda schools programme and is now in the process of being expanded both divisionally and nationally, with the support of key agencies, including the Road Safety Authority, Department of Education and Skills, Local Authorities, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and various media outlets.
For information on when Operation Paisti will be run in your area please contact your local Garda station.
If you have any questions or would like to contribute to Car Seat Safety awareness please contact us on info@rearfacing.ie or 0870543886.
Thanks from,
Winnie & The Rearfacing.ie Team
