RACV and TAC join forces to address the use of children’s booster seats
RACV and TAC have launched a new road safety initiative to reduce confusion about the use of booster seats in cars for children.
The campaign introduces The Booster Tag, an icon in the shape of a booster seat to appear alongside clothing care tags on t-shirts sized 4-11, which fit children under 145cm. The initiative aims to re-frame the use of booster seats to be defined by the child’s height instead of age.
Current child restraint laws use seven years of age as a barometer for parents to consider whether their child still needs a booster seat. However, paediatric research has shown more than 97% of seven year olds are not tall enough to move out of a booster seat safely. Adult seatbelts are designed for people over 145cm tall.
TAC lead director of road safety, Samantha Cockfield, said: “It’s critical that all passengers are correctly restrained when travelling in a vehicle, especially children, who are among our most vulnerable road users. Booster seats reduce a child’s risk of injury and death in a car crash by providing side impact protection, and most importantly, protecting their heads.
“This campaign is about arming people with simple and clear information to help them protect their most precious cargo.”
RACV senior policy advisor on safety, Elvira Lazar, added: “We hope to spark a movement that sees all children’s clothing manufacturers utilise The Booster Tag which in turn, can help to save children’s lives.
“Using age as a guide to move children out of a booster seat is no longer appropriate. All seven-year olds are different heights so it only makes sense that we highlight to parents that it is the height that they need to consider before evaluating if they should take their child out of a booster seat.
“That’s why, in partnership with TAC, we have created The Booster Tag. The tag helps clear the confusion for parents around whether their child should be in a booster seat – if a t-shirt carries The Booster Tag, the answer is yes.”
The Booster Tag is an open-source sizing tag and icon available for all Victorian and Australian clothing manufacturers to download for free. It has already gained support from clothing brands Minti, Oobi and Littlehorn. Myer’s Milkshake range has added the icon onto swing tags on select garments.
Half Moon Bay Surf Life Saving Club and Lumineer Academy Victoria will also be adopting The Booster Tag in their uniforms and rash vests.
Futher brands, schools and clubs are being encouraged to adopt The Booster Tag.
The Booster Tag prompts parents to do the seatbelt ready five-step test, to check their children can achieve a good adult seatbelt fit and travel without a booster seat.
A limited-edition range of eight unisex t-shirts has been released for online purchase by TAC and RACV. Profits from the sale of the t-shirts will go to The Royal Children’s Hospital to aid children and their families affected by trauma.
The Booster Tag initiative was created by CHE Proximity. It will form part of TAC’s Towards Zero action plan.
In February, a tender was opened for TAC’s creative and advertising services, public relations, website content and design, and experiential, event management and activations. The successful agencies are yet to be announced.
Credits
RACV
General Manager, Marketing & Membership – Laura Wilson
Senior Marketing Manager – Kate Peters
Senior Policy Advisor – Elvira Lazar
Head of Media & Communications – Brodie Bott
TAC
Partnership Manager – Candice McDonald
Lead Director, Road Safety – Sam Cockfield
Senior Road Safety Specialist – David Young
Manager of Media and Communications – Nicolas McGay
Media and Communications Advisor – Alex White
Creative Agency – CHE Proximity
Chief Creative Officer – Ant White
Executive Creative Director – Glen Dickson
Creative Directors – Amy Weston and Chris Andrews
Senior Copywriter – Deb Frenkel
Design Lead – Tim McPherson
Head of Design – Trent Roberts
Senior Digital Designer – Adam Lord
Senior UX Designer – Stephen Genoglou
Director, Strategic Production – Holly Alexander
Producer – Elena Szymanski
Sound Engineer – Matt Thompson
Online Editor – Cassy Vincent
Social Creatives – Matt Bladin, Phoebe Sloane and Genevieve Brown
CEO – Chris Howatson
Client Partner – Sarah Raine
Group Account Director – Emily Gray
Account Director – Henrietta Corley
Senior Account Manager – Sarah Cox
Account Manager – Nicholas Polidoras
Production Manager – Avery Clark
Retoucher – David McNeil and Josh Fikret
Finished Artist – Nigel Harvey
Director, PR – Georgia Wright
Snr PR Account Director – Judy Crema
Snr PR Account Manager – Romina Favero
Director, Engineering – Hoang Nguyen
Technology Program Director – David Cooper
Technology Project Manager – Nicole Jones
Senior Front-end Developer – Campbell Ding
QA Analyst – Aishwarya Ganesan
Production
Director and Photographer – Christopher Tovo
Production – Guilty Pictures
Executive Producer – Rohan Timlock
Editing & Online – Manimal Post
