Child seat laws risk

ONE is six drivers is breaking child car seat laws and putting children's lives at risk, according to a poll.

And 21% of those failing to comply are unaware the laws exist, the survey by insurance firm LV found.

Also, 10% of those who are aware of the regulations say they disregard them and do not bother to fit safety seats or boosters, which are compulsory for children under 12 who are 135cm and under.

The survey of 2,104 adults showed children most at risk were those travelling with friends of the family, with 26% of these friends admitting to not using child seats.

Even when an appropriate car seat is used, almost a quarter of drivers (24%) said they did not check the safety seat was installed properly, potentially putting their passengers in danger.

Last year there were more than 3,000 child casualties as a result of road accidents, including 121 deaths.

LV managing director John O'Roarke said: "Child seats can take just five minutes to install and greatly reduce the chances of injury."

COPYRIGHT 2008 MGN Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning