Why Do Parents Allow Children To Travel Unrestrained In Cars?

In most first world countries, it is the law that kids travelling in cars must be in the correct seat for their weight and must be restrained. There is a good reason for this and what I cannot understand is seeing children of apparently sensible parents standing between the two front seats while the car is in motion. I often see a baby on an adult's lap in the front seat, and I have occasionally seen toddlers with their heads and arms sticking out of the windows.

I have come to the conclusion that we as adults are largely reactive, instead of proactive, we often don't consider the possible consequences of our actions until it is too late and the damage is done. These parents absolutely love their children and I'm sure would die for them and that is why I cannot understand why they do this.

At present, there are adverts on the TV warning of what can happen with an unrestrained child travelling at 30 mph where the car crashes. Basically, the child is thrown forward with a force 30 to 60 times their body weight. They would be thrown about inside the vehicle, becoming seriously injured and quite possibly seriously injuring (or even killing) other people inside the vehicle. They are also likely to be ejected from the car through one of the windows.

It is not safe to hold a child on your lap with neither restrained with a seat belt. In a crash, the child could be crushed between your body and part of the car's interior. Even if you, yourself are using a seat belt, the child would be torn from your arms - you would not be able to hold onto them, no matter how hard you try. It is also dangerous to put a seat belt around yourself and a child (or around two children) as they would crush each other.

The safest way for children to travel in cars is in a child seat that is suitable for their weight and size. A shopkeeper can advise on the correct seats and a child should be in a booster seat until approximately 12 years of age.

When I see unrestrained babies and children, my heart jumps, but what do I do about it? I do absolutely nothing and this is to my shame. I guess its difficult when the car passes me and I am in the middle of something so have not taken details of registration. It is another story however when the parent is a friend or their child is a friend of my child and this is where is gets really tricky. What do you do, apart from never allow your child to travel with them? Having weighed up the consequences of telling them versus not telling them, I have decided to drop hints by referring to my own car seats in conversation, saying that they are great, they give me so much peace of mind and touching on the disastrous consequences of us being involved in a crash without them.

I will probably lose friends and maybe risk my child losing friends also but I feel most parents will think twice about it and I could even save a life or a child from permanent injury.

Speaking up when you feel that it's right is another topic for another day but this is just one example where I personally have been silent for purely selfish reasons and I plan to rectify this very soon.

By Noelle Leahy