Parents not strapping kids in car
454 drivers in region fined for putting kids’ safety at risk while driving
RACQ has issued a serious warning to parents after new data revealed almost 2400 drivers had been caught failing to correctly restrain a child in the car.
Data obtained from the Department of Transport and Main Roads found Queensland Police fined 2397 drivers for the offence over a 12 month period.
Of those, 454 infringements were issued in the southern police region, which includes Toowoomba.
RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said failure to properly restrain a child was inexcusable.
“It’s shocking such a huge number of motorists are being caught driving kids around unrestrained or incorrectly restrained it’s putting our most vulnerable passengers at risk,” she said.
Ms Ritchie said most alarming was the 95 fines handed out to drivers who failed to properly restrain a child under the age of six months.
“It’s horrifying to think about what can happen if they’re in a crash,” she said.
She advised there were serious penalties for drivers who failed to ensure a passenger under 16-years-old was restrained.
“Not only are you putting the child at risk, you can be fined $378 and handed three demerit points,” she said.
“We’re urging all drivers to make sure they’re keeping kids safe by buckling them up correctly every time they get in the car.”