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Buckle Up!

Between 1996 & 2003, 59 children under the age of 16 were killed in road collisions where safety restraints were not in use.  Ensuring a child is properly restrained in a car seat can reduce injuries by 90-95% for rear facing seats, according to the AA Motoring Trust.   Complying with these new laws is an issue of personal responsibility and common sense.

Since September 2006, it is compulsory for all children to travel in the correct seat, booster seat or booster cushion. 

   Children under three years of age must not travel in a car or goods vehicle – other than a taxi – unless restrained in the correct child seat. 

• Children aged three years or over who are under 150cms in height and weighing less than 36 kilograms – generally children up to 11 or 12 years old – must use the correct child seat, booster seat or booster cushion when travelling in cars or goods vehicles. 
• Children over three years of age must travel in a rear seat in vehicles not fitted with safety belts. 
• Rearward-facing child car seats must never be used in the front passenger seat of cars with an active airbag. 
• Child car seats must be in accordance with EU or United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) standards.

Launching the multimedia campaign to get primary & secondary pupils to belt up on school buses, Minister of State for Education Sile deValera said multimedia education was the most important way to ensure schoolchildren wear seat belts.  “Parents already understand that wearing a seat belt in a car is an added safety measure and most would not travel without ensuring that their child was wearing a seatbelt” she said.  “I am asking for the co-operation of parents and school authorities and all those associated with the transportation of children to make sure that children wear a seatbelt for a safer journey”.

In order to protect yourself, you need to ensure everyone is wearing a seat belt in a car, irrespective of age or length of journey.

More information on Road Safety can be obtained at the Road Safety Association Website www.rsa.ie