‘Late’ parents fail to secure children into their car seats

CHILDREN are not being strapped in properly by their “complacent” parents during car journeys, a study has found.

One in seven parents – 14 per cent – admit having driven children in their car who were incorrectly strapped in.

Running late or making short journeys were among the reasons given for not using the correct seats or seat belts for children, according to research commissioned by Co-op Insurance.

But of those parents in a rush or behind schedule, only 13 per cent would risk parking on double yellow lines.

Children must use a child car seat until they are 12 years old or 1.35 metres tall. Parents can be fined up to £500 for driving a child without having a seat belt or child seat in place.

A 45-minute police operation outside a primary school in Birmingham last week recorded 51 offences of children unsecured in vehicles.

Recent Department for Transport figures show that 27 per cent of people who died in crashes on Britain’s roads last year were unrestrained.

Nick Ansley, head of motor insurance at Co-op, said: “Thousands of children are being driven round without being correctly fastened into their seats. If a vehicle is involved in a collision, then the consequences are likely to be much more serious if a child is not strapped in.”

He urged parents not to try to “buy time” in their busy schedules by “not belting children in properly”.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at Brake, the road safety charity, warned that cuts in road policing was “breeding an environment of complacency” among drivers. He said: “Wearing a seat belt is simply a no-brainer in safety terms. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways that people can protect themselves in a vehicle.”