Parents and carers putting childrens’ lives in danger

April 27, 2012 - PRLog -- Parents, grandparents and carers are putting childrens’ lives in danger by allowing them to travel in cars without booster seats before they are legally allowed. The research of 1,000 carers showed that three-quarters of respondents (74%) have stopped or plan to stop using booster seats while their children are aged ten or under, despite the law saying that children must be aged 12, unless they are over 135cm tall.

The research carried out by BubbleBum, the world’s first inflatable booster seat, showed that respondents – who all regularly carried children in cars – were largely unaware of the 2005 laws relating to booster seats. 72% of those surveyed did not understand when it was permissible to carry children without booster seats* and 75% did not know the purpose of booster seats.

Every year 1,423 children aged 11 and under are killed or seriously injured whilst travelling on UK roads** - and travelling by car is when Britons are most worried that children are at risk of injury, with 41% citing this as their main concern.  With key travel periods on the horizon and May half term and summer holidays fast approaching, usual travel safety habits may be left behind.  When using rental cars, travelling by taxi or having three children in a row in the back seat, it is important to plan for all eventualities.

Men confess that they are less likely to use a booster seat and seat belts for children as regularly as women.  In addition, women are more likely than men to keep a child in a booster seat for longer – 58% of men will stop using a booster seat when a child reaches 8 years of age, compared to 43% of women.

Martin Howard, spokesperson at Brake, said: “It is alarming that so many drivers are unaware of the height and age at which children are safe to travel without using booster seats.  Children have delicate bodies and are never more at risk than when travelling as passengers on the roads, and it is therefore vital that they are provided with the correct support.  Brake is calling for parents, grandparents and carers to ensure that children are carried safely in booster seats until they are over 150cm tall, in line with EU recommendations.  We are also urging the Government to invest in educational campaigns to raise awareness about the dangers of not using booster seats, which will help ensure that drivers are not unwittingly putting children’s lives at risk”.

“These findings offer real insight into the limited knowledge parents today have about booster seat safety,” said Grainne Kelly, CEO of BubbleBum. “It’s apparent that whilst many parents are doing everything they can to keep their children safe in cars, there’s no real understanding of the protection provided by booster seats.  There is clearly a lot of work to do to educate about not only the law but the reasons why it’s in place, and to make sure parents aren’t putting the lives of children at risk.  This is something that we’re passionate about and working hard to do, as ensuring that your child has the right booster seat for their height and weight can have real results in the event of a collision.”

Notes to editors

*Exemptions to the child seat law, when a child over three years old may travel without a booster include; emergency and unplanned journeys, when three restrains cannot fit in the rear of car and when traveling in licensed taxis / emergency vehicles
**Figures taken from reported road casualties Great Britain 2010 annual reports, Department for Transport, 2011
Telephone interviews with Grainne Kelly and Martin Howard from Brake are available upon request

Additional key findings
•   55% of respondents incorrectly believe that there aren’t any exemptions to using a booster seat
•   20% of people believe that children are exempt from wearing a booster seat if they are renting a car and no booster is available or if they are travelling outside the UK
•   35% of respondents carried three or more children in the backseat of a car, and invariably the younger children travel in a booster seat if there are not enough for all three children

About the research

Research was carried out in March 2012 by the UK National Research panel YourSayPays. Results were collected from a sample of 1,000 adults who regularly car for young children across the UK.
YourSayPays is a national research panel and can be found at www.yoursaypays.co.uk. YourSayPays has over 25,000 panelists from across the UK.

About BubbleBum

Launched in December 2009, BubbleBum, the world’s first inflatable booster seat has rocketed to success, winning major worldwide awards in various sectors; from safetyand business, to commercialand parenting. The product exports to 24 countries globally and stocked by Amazon, Toys R Us, Kiddicare and Halfords, and retails at £29.99.
In the UK, all children under the age of 12 and shorter than 135cm must travel with a child seat or a booster seat to help avoid serious injury in the event of a traffic collision. BubbleBum complies with all health and safety regulations, having been approved under the United Nations ECE Regulation R44/04 for safety for both Groups 2 and 3. It is designed for use with a standard 3 point adult seatbelt that has been approved to ECE Regulation 16 or equivalent.

About Brake

Brake is an independent road safety charity. Brake exists to stop the five deaths and 65 serious injuries that happen on UK roads every day and to care for families bereaved and seriously injured in road crashes. Brake runs awareness-raising campaigns, community education programmes, events such as Road Safety Week (19-25 November 2012), and a Fleet Safety Forum, providing advice to companies. Brake’s support division cares for road crash victims through a helpline and other services.

Road crashes are not accidents: they are man-made, preventable, violent events that devastate lives. Brake does not use the term accidents because it undermines work to tackle needless casualties and causes insult to families whose lives have been torn apart by road death or injury.
As of 18 September 2006, the following laws relating to use of child restraints were introduced in the UK:
•   All children under three years old must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in a car, van or goods vehicle (except in a taxi if a child seat is not available), whether they are seated in the front or back. They cannot travel otherwise
•   Children aged three to 11 and up to 135cms (approx 4ft 5ins) in height must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in the front of cars, vans or goods vehicles. If travelling in the back of a vehicle with seat belts fitted, they must use the correct child restraint. If the correct child restraint is not available (in a taxi, for short distance in an unexpected circumstance, or when two occupied child restraints prevent the fitment of a third) they must use the adult belt
•   Children aged 12 or over, or more than 135cms (approx 4ft 5ins) in height, must use a seat belt in the front and back, where fitted. (Alternatively, they may use an appropriate child restraint in place of a seat belt).
•   All child restraints must conform to modern safety standards, meaning UN-ECE Regulation 44.03 (to apply from May 2008)
•   Where seat belts are provided, the number of people carried in the rear of vehicles may not exceed the number of seats available fitted with seat belts or child restraints (to apply from May 2009)

For further information or images please contact Abra or Nicola at bubblebum@lucre.co.uk, or on 0208 332 9690