Travelling safely with your child



When you have children your priorities change and you suddenly have to be completely responsible for someone else's life. A small child relies on you completely for its protection and welfare. A child's safety is particularly important when travelling. It is the drivers' responsibility to ensure that all passengers are properly strapped into the car, especially children until they can be taught to strap themselves in.

Every year around 30 children between the ages of 0 and 11 are killed in car accidents, 450 are seriously injured and another 8,000 are slightly injured, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Many of these children could have been spared from injury if they had been properly restrained in the car they were travelling in. For example in a crash at 30 mph where a child is unrestrained they would be thrown forwards with a force of between 30 and 60 times their own body weight. There is no substitute for a proper child seat that is fitted according to the manufacturers' guidelines. Holding a child without restraint is dangerous as it would be impossible to hold on tight enough to them in the event of an accident.

A car seat is the only really safe way to transport your child in the car. There are different seats you can buy according to the size and weight of the child. You must buy a seat that is appropriate and get advice on fitting it in your car. Not all car seats fit in all cars so you should check with the retailer before you buy, that your seat is suitable for your car.

To help you buy the right seat for your child we've put together a list of hints and tips to follow when buying your child's car seat.

Tips for buying a car seat

*First of all you should make sure that every car seat you consider meets the United Nations standard Regulation 44.03 and carries the 'E' mark that verifies this.

*Look at the range of options available. Manufacturers have websites that list details of their car seats and also lots of information on safety and helpful user guides. Here is a list of some of the leading car seat manufacturers.

http://www.britax.co.uk/

http://www.mamasandpapasonline.com/

http://www.maxi-cosi.com/

*When you are buying a car seat for a newborn baby there are two options available to you. You can either buy a rearward facing seat which is suitable until your child weighs about 10/13kg. These are often supplied with buggies and can be lifted in and out of the car. You can also buy a two-way seat which faces inwards for about the first year and then outwards until the child is around 150cms tall. If you go for the rearward facing seat you will need to buy another seat for the child when it grows and possibly a booster seat in between for a child that weighs 15 - 25kgs

*Not all car seats fit all cars so find out which ones are suitable for your vehicle and then follow the instructions very carefully

*The car seat should be light and comfortable to carry. This will make it easier for you to take your baby in and out of the car

*It seat should be well padded for the child's comfort and have good head support as a small baby cannot support its own head

*You should never put a rearward facing car seat on a seat where there is an active airbag because if the airbag inflates in an accident it could kill your baby. Many cars allow you to disable the passenger airbag

*Never buy a second hand car seat as like motorcycle helmets you cannot see all damage that may have been sustained in a previous accident

*Make sure the seat doesn't wobble about at all and feels very secure, you could check this every time you put the baby into the seat

*Check the seat for wear and tear and for any harnesses that may be twisted

*If you are a member of the AA or the RAC then you can speak to one of their technical advisors and find out exactly how to fit your car seat. Call 0990 500600 for the AA and 0990 313131 for the RAC

All new car seats will have to meet the International Standards Organisation FIX (ISOFIX). This is a new standard for fitting car seats and lots of new cars will have to have ISOFIX fitting points which will enable the seat to be literally plugged into ISOFIX points in the car. This will make fitting car seats much safer and much more straightforward. Studies have shown that many car seats are not fitted properly so this will mean that children will be much safer in the future.

Car accidents happen all the time so it is better to be safe than sorry. Make sure that your child's seat is fitted correctly and that your child still fits the seat, this will help prevent injury in the event of a road traffic accident. If you are involved in a car accident that was not your fault and you or your child are injured then you may be able to make a personal injury claim.

For more information visit www.wheelsatonce.com and get free legal advice and assistance following a car accident.

Travelling Smart Overseas With Your Cellphone

Some time ago, I was in charge of developing a business concern on the beautiful island of Sri Lanka while based in the United States. At one point, I needed to send an employee there to set up the quality control program. This employee did not have a GSM cell phone so I lent him mine to use "in case of emergency only". The employee spent time each night chatting with family on the cell phone and came back with a $3,000 phone bill in two short weeks.

If you have a US GSM cell phone and service account, you may find that it will cost you something in the range of $3 per minute to use your phone overseas due to international roaming. As an example, on one trip to Hamburg, I had lost my party at a very large exposition. I used my cell phone to call them and found out that instead of it being a local call, it went to the US and back via their networks thus charging me for two international calls!

A little while later I was on a plane to Sri Lanka. As we were about to land, the gentleman next to me took out a small bag and dumped the contents into his palm. They were SIM chips. I asked him what this was all about and he told me he was looking for his chip for Sri Lanka. He informed me that the chip enabled him to make calls in and from Sri Lanka without incurring the extremely high roaming charges my friend above met with. He traveled throughout Europe and Asia and had chips for each major locale.

I was intrigued by this idea and did some research on what it took to use these local chips in my cell phone. Here is what I found:

Your basic cell phone service provider places a unique serial number into your cell phone. This unique number is called an "ESN" and it is used by the service provider to identify who you are. The service provider uses this number to know where to send phone calls too when someone dials your number.

A GSM phone is a little different animal. "GSM" (Global System for Mobile Communications) is a type of digital mobile phone service. GSM is the most common standard for cell phones in the world. GSM service is common in over 210 countries around the world with over 1.5 billion users. The popularity of GSM makes international roaming very common between cell phone operators, enabling the user to successfully use their phone in many parts of the world. One of the key differences with GSM is that the phone itself is not directly linked to you. Rather, the removable "SIM" (Subscriber Information Module) chip is encoded with a unique serial number which is what now identifies you to the wireless provider.

Having your info embedded into a removable SIM chip rather than into your cell phone is what makes this all so interesting. If you place your SIM chip into a compatible cell phone, you can use that phone as your own because the service provider will recognize the SIM chip inside of it as yours. Conversely, you can buy compatible SIM chips from the country you are about to visit and use them in your phone. This is what allows you to avoid the ugly international roaming charges mentioned above.

Before you can do this, however, you will most likely need to "Unlock" your cell phone. Most wireless service providers "lock" their cell phones which means that they program them to only work with SIM chips issued by their company. Unlocking a cell phone is basically reversing this programming. The process is very easy and quick.

There are many service providers online that specialize in mobile unlocking. Once the cell phone is unlocked, it is permanently unlocked.

Now I wanted a SIM chip that would work in the country I was headed too, again, Sri Lanka. I was told that the best way was to find a cell phone store there in Colombo but this sounded difficult as my schedule would be very busy. While searching for an alternative, I was directed to www.Telestial.com as a source of chips via the internet. I found that I could buy a chip from Sri Lanka with pre-paid minutes on it. They did also offer a great variety of SIM chips from most major destinations around the world. The process was quick and painless and I found the cost to be very reasonable ($79 vs. $3,000!). The only drawback to the system was that this did give me a new phone number which I had to pass out to family and business associates prior to departure.

The trip went well as I was able to coordinate activities with local vendors and business associates without feeling like I had to hang up the phone after two sentences.

Travelling To South America With A Tour Group

Travelling To South America With A Tour Group

South America has magnificant beautiful areas to explore and most often people are looking for a package deal that is offered by a tour group. Is a package deal the right decision for you?

If you answer yes then there are many to choose from but how do you know which one is best suited for you.

First you must look at yourself and know that travelling to South American with all it's pros and cons is right for you. Before you even begin to look at areas you need to ask yourself questions.

Do you want to stay at an all-inclusive resort and be pampered or do you want to get into hiking and exploring different regions? If you are into hiking them make sure you are fit enough to be active for hours on end and check to see just how much you will be active.

Will you be able to trapse through jungles or withstand the thin air in the mountain regions? Heat and humidity in the jungle areas can be extreme just as thin air in the mountains can cause altitude sickness. Will either of these bother you?

Although not advisable some people prefer to travel alone. Make sure you are capable of dealing with the many situations that travelling alone may bring. South America is made up of thrid world countries and with language differences and illnesses that may arise, travelling alone may not be for you. Being in a group gives you the security of instant help should the need arise and support from other group members.

Make sure you bring medications with you for your trip in case any medical conditions arise. It is highly recommended that if you are heading for jungle areas that you get prophylactic Malaria medication and take it! If you plan to travel deep into the rainforest or other unusual places that you get advice from a specialized hospital or doctor that deals with tropical diseases.

Research extensively the areas that you wish to travel in. Read maps, listen to local music, find online reviews, read guide books, learn some of the language and try to correspond with others who have visited the area. A well researched trip will mean less surprises.

By planning you will now have a list of things that you want to see or do in the country you choose. Once you have researched all the different areas of South America it is then time to visit a travel agent. Take you list of things you want to accomplish and your agent will help to match you up with the right tour group. Make sure you look at what is included in your trip beside the price. All inclusive does not necessarily mean taxes, food/snacks, alchol, transfers, travel expenses or fees for side trips are included. Look online for references or ask your agent if they can supply you will some.

Last, but not least, make sure you check on the visa requirements for your trip. Make sure your passport is up to date. Make photocopies of all travel documents and credit cards and identity cards in case they are lost of stolen. Try to leave documents with a hotel once you arrive in country and only carry photocopies with you when away from the hotel. If the need arrises for the actual documents you can easily make arrangements with the hotel for their delivery.