MOTHERS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN APPROXIMATELY 6 MONTHS OF AGE WERE SELECTED FROM THOSE WHO AT VARIOUS CHILD CARE CENTRES THROUGHOUT MELBOURNE HAD ANSWERED A QUESTIONNAIRE CONCERNING THE USE OF CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS IN CARS. NONE OF THE MOTHERS HAD YET PURCHASED A CHILD SEAT. THOSE PARTICIPATING WERE OFFERED A FREE SEAT AND THERE WAS A WIDE VARIETY OF CAR TYPES AND MODELS. FIVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF APPROVED SEATS (TWENTY OF EACH TYPE) WERE AVAILABLE FOR ALLOCATION, AND INSTALLATION WAS FREE. THE FIVE TYPES, IDENTIFIED BY THEIR BRAND NAMES, WERE (1) SAFEDRIVE (FORWARD FACING), (2) SAFEDRIVE (REARWARD FACING), (3) SAFE-N-SOUND, (4) STEELCRAFT AND (5) KLIPPAN. THE ALLOCATION WAS MADE AT A WORKSHOP IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT OF THE ROYAL MELBOURNE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE PARENTS (MOSTLY MOTHERS) WERE GIVEN THE CHOICE OF ONE OF THE FIVE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SEAT. FOLLOWING CHOICE OF SEAT EACH PARENT WAS ASKED TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: (1) THE REASON FOR THEIR CHOICE OF A PARTICULAR SEAT AT THE TIME OF ALLOCATION. (2) THEIR EXPERIENCE, GIVING ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES, A SHORT PERIOD (2 WEEKS) AFTER ALLOCATION. (3) THEIR EXPERIENCE ONE YEAR LATER. THE FINAL RESULTS SHOWED THAT OF THE 66 SEATS FOR WHICH A COMPLETE CHOICE WAS AVAILABLE, NEARLY HALF OF THE PARENTS (41%) CHOSE THE SAFEDRIVE SEAT (BOTH REARWARD AND FORWARD FACING POSITION), A RATHER LARGE GROUP CHOSE FORWARD FACING SEATS (SAFE-N-SOUND - 24%; STEELCRAFT - 14%; TOTAL=38%), AND A SURPRISINGLY LARGE GROUP (21%) CHOSE THE KLIPPAN SEAT (REARWARD FACING POSITION ONLY, INSTALLED IN THE FRONT SEAT).
Abstract