5th September 2007

LARSOA urges parents to use correct child car seats

As the first anniversary of the change in law on child car seats approaches, LARSOA is calling for action against parents who deliberately flout the regulations and an increase in penalties for those caught.

Parents who fail to ensure youngsters are using the correct car seat for their weight, height and age are putting children's lives at risk - which is tantamount to child abuse according to the Local Authority Road Safety Officers' Association.

Last September the law was changed so that children up to 135cms (around 4ft 5ins) must use the appropriate child restraint for their weight such as a car seat or booster cushion.

It meant that some youngsters who had stopped using booster seats would have to return to using them. Parents who don't comply with the law can receive a £30 fixed penalty or a fine of up to £500 if the case goes to court.

Simon Ettinghausen, a spokesman for LARSOA, believes the law does not go far enough. The organisation wants to see penalties increased from £30 to £60 and three penalty points on an offenders' driving licence in the same way they were recently increased for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving.

He says: "We want to see penalties increased as well as more education and advice for parents. We know many drivers remain unaware of the regulations but it is their responsibility to carry child passengers safely and legally.

"There are also drivers who continue to allow their children to travel without using any restraint. We hear about young people standing between the two front seats and not wearing any seat belt. Road Safety Officers across the country see this when they regularly monitor driving behaviour. It is not acceptable to put children at risk in this way."

As a national organisation made up of road safety teams across the UK, LARSOA continually supports best practice in education but believes this has to be in conjunction with police enforcement of the new laws.

Simon explains: "Enforcement action needs to be taken against the hard core of drivers who don't comply. Drivers should not be allowed to flout the law and put the life of a child in their care in jeopardy."

ABOUT LARSOA

LARSOA is a national road safety organisation representing road safety officers (RSOs) employed in local government across the UK.

LARSOA represents 185 of the 200 eligible local authorities across the UK, assisting RSOs to fulfil their statutory role to reduce the number and severity of road casualties through education, training and publicity programmes.

LARSOA publishes an up-to-date round-up of road safety news from across the UK on its website www.larsoa.org.uk .

LARSOA also aims to influence national debate - government policy and action together with public opinion. The association works to achieve national recognition for road safety issues, commissions research into behaviour which contributes to road collisions and develops national road safety campaigns.

The association assists in identifying achievable national targets to reduce the number of collisions on the country's roads.