The calls come as Brake's annual Beep Beep! Day campaign kicks off, which aims to save little lives on roads. Over the next three months, 200 nurseries, pre-schools and children's centres are running Beep Beep! Days; special days that help teach tots and their parents about road safety and raise awareness about the need for drivers to slow down to protect families. Brake is urging more to sign up.
The survey of 1,000 parents of children under 10 by Brake also found:
• A shocking one in 20 (5%) said they never use a child or booster seat;
• More than a quarter (26%) have used a child seat or booster seat that did not fit properly;
• Half (47%) don't always ensure their child uses an appropriate child seat or booster seat when travelling in a taxi or someone else's car;
• More than a quarter (27%) have used a second hand child seat or booster seat, which is not recommended by safety experts.
Every year more than 700 children under eight are killed or seriously injured on roads in the UK. Child restraints greatly reduce the risk of death or injury in a collision; if children are not properly restrained they will be thrown from their seat with great force, even in low-speed crashes, into the seat in front, the door, or through the windscreen.
UK law states that parents must use a child or booster seat until their child is either 12 years old or 135cm tall. However, Brake urges parents to follow best practice advice and wait until their child reaches 150cm before letting their child travel without a child booster seat.
Brake is also calling on parents of children age two -seven to encourage their nursery, pre-/infant school, or children's centre to hold a Beep Beep! Day to spread this and other life-saving messages to parents and start teaching tots and infants the road safety basics. (More about Beep Beep! Days below).
Journalists, photographers and film crews are invited to attend a filming and photo opportunity at a Beep Beep! Day
WHEN: 20 August at 10am
WHERE: Sharlston Children's Centre, Hammer Lane, Sharlston Common, Wakefield, WF4 1DH
WHAT: 30 children, aged three to five will be chalking out a road in their playground and practising crossing while holding hands, and making brightly coloured posters using hand paint. Car seat advice and demonstrations for parents will also be provided.
The event will be attended by the bereaved family of Owen Wightman, 6, who was killed by a speeding driver, a Brake representative, and representatives of the Children's Centre who are available for interview. Media arrange to attend or set up pre-recorded interviews by contacting Siobhan MacMahon on 01484 550063 or news@brake.org.uk.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said:
"Every year, more than 700 young children are killed or seriously injured on our roads. These sudden and violent events end lives that have barely begun, and devastate whole families and communities, who struggle to come to terms with such senseless harm being inflicted on a young child. They are not accidents we must learn to live with: every child death and serious injury on roads is preventable. It's vital that parents, carers and of course the wider driving public understand how best to protect children on roads, and worrying to find common misunderstanding about child car seats. We recommend parents always use a correctly-fitted suitable child or booster seat until a child is 150cm tall."
"We're also urging more early years educators to run Beep Beep! Days, to start engaging young children in road safety, and crucially to get life-saving messages across to parents and the wider community."
Case studies
Six-year-old Owen Wightman of Kettlethorpe, Wakefield, was out playing near his home on 18 June 2011, when he was killed by a speeding driver. Owen was crossing the road to return home when Peter Renshaw, 22, of Huddersfield, struck him at 57mph in a 30mph zone. The car travelled 23 metres down the road with Owen on the bonnet, before Owen was thrown to the kerb. He died at the scene.
Joanne Wightman, Owen's mother, said: "Any parent can understand how devastating it is to lose a child, especially in such a sudden and violent way. I urge all drivers and parents to follow Brake's advice and do everything they can to protect children whether they are a passenger in a vehicle or out and about in their local area."