Child Car Seat Safety with Hurphy Durphy
According to Royal Automobile Club statistics over
1500 children died between 1999-2004 in accidents that may have been
preventable if their car seats had been properly secured.1
The Hurphy Durphy Seat Belt Buckle Guard is a sturdy seat belt buckle
cover to be used with child car seats/restraints.2
Perth mum Imogen Mirmikidis invented the Hurphy Durphy after discovering
the seat belt securing her child’s car seat had been accidentally
undone.
The Hurphy Durphy prevents careless adults or young children from pressing
or knocking the seat belt release button. This removes one more obstacle
to your child’s security in a car. This simple device is paramount to
the effectiveness of any child car seat/restraint.
The Hurphy Durphy is made of neoprene and plastic, and has an extra
strong Velcro fastener that camouflages the buckle.
For her invention Imogen has won a JJJ Young Guns Catapult Award and
a place in the Small Business Development Corporation’s Innovation
to Market Programme.
Easy to Install
Availability
The Hurphy Durphy Seat Belt Buckle Guard is available online at www.hurphydurphy.com or from baby stores nationally. The retail price is $29.95.
Imogen is contactable by phone on 9386 9341 or 0411745092, or via email:
info@hurphydurphy.com
Testimonial
“I looked all over the place for something to prevent my five
year old from accidentally unbuckling her 7 month old brother’s car
seat every time she gets out of her booster seat and could not find
anything suitable. The seat belt posts in my car are so close it’s impossible
to expect my five year old to not hit the button next to her buckle
when she gets in and out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven
with the car seat unanchored because I had not noticed the seatbelt
was unbuckled again. I even resorted to tying the car seatbelt that’s
supposed to anchor my infant seat closed with twine as a stopgap until
I could find something that works. I found your site on the Internet
and ordered since it looked like it would work with my SUV’s seat belts.
It is wonderful! Fits perfectly, does not obstruct the other seat belts
in my Ford Explorer, or prevent the wide base of my baby’s Britax car
seat from sitting properly on the seat (and much safer than twine).
It solves the problem completely. I could not find any way to unlock
the belt with the Hurphy Durphy (great name too!) on, so I finally KNOW
my five year old won’t be able to undo it and my baby is always safely
secured. You need to distribute these in stores in the US. It is a lifesaver
- literally".
Thank you,
Cindy Newman
Scarsdale, New York USA
Key Points of Interest
- It doesn’t matter how good the seat is, if it’s unanchored
it’s almost useless and potentially more dangerous due to catapulting
possibilities - The whole design of securing a Baby Capsule or Child Seat is Based on
2 Anchor points:- The Rear Anchor Clip which is very secure and difficult to detach
- The Seat Belt which can be released with ease or accidentally by a push
of a button if it does not have a Hurphy Durphy Seat Belt Buckle Guard
Installed
- Hurphy Durphy Pty Ltd has full Product Liability Insurance
- The Australian Motor Vehicle Certification Board, comprised of the RTA
and all of the regulative bodies in the other states permit the sale
of the Hurphy Durphy Seat Belt Buckle Guard for its intended use to
prevent the accidental release of the seat belt buckle that is being
used to anchor the Baby Capsule / Child Seat - A Perth Lady was charged and convicted in May 2007 for this exact situation
where her 8 month old Baby was catapulted 20 metres out of the car.
1 http://rac.com.au/go/community-and-information/motoring-advice/child-restraints
2 The Hurphy Durphy is only for use with child car restraints and capsules
that have their own separate harness. Not for use with a regular seatbelt
used to secure a person.
