Feature Article for National Road Safety Week
17th- 24 of May
Teaching road safety to your family is important and begins in the early years of their life.
Ensure you teach children about the importance of buckling-up on every trip.
Adults should ‘model’ correct buckling-up behaviour:
• Do not start the car until everyone is buckled up correctly.
• Ensure children know that they are not allowed to unbuckle their seat belts until you say so.
• Watch out for children trying to help you by undoing restraints for their baby brother or sister.
Never allow children to share a seat belt.
Never hold a child on your lap whilst travelling in a motor vehicle. This is unsafe and against the law.
Airbags are designed to protect adults in a crash. They deploy at high speeds to the chest height of an average adult. This can be dangerous for children. It is recommended that:
• Children 12 years of age and under should not sit in the front seat.
• Rearward facing child car restraints should not be fitted in the front row of seats in vehicles with an active front passenger airbag
Children are at risk in the driveway:
Young children are naturally inquisitive, move surprisingly fast and can run into the path of a moving vehicle without warning. From the time it takes for the driver to say goodbye and start the car, a child can move onto the driveway and into the path of the vehicle. Due to ‘blind spots’ a small child can be impossible to see from inside a car, especially if they are directly behind it. Ensuring that you are aware of your child’s whereabouts and holding their hand until the car as moved will ensure that you teach awareness of their surroundings as well as keeping them safe.