Some 6,000 children under 15 were killed or injured on the roads between 1996 and 2000, new research has found.
Of 6,045 children aged 0-15 years, who were killed or injured in road crashes during that period, cyclists accounted for 10 per cent, 28.5 per cent were pedestrians and 61.5 per cent were car occupants.
The study was carried out by Dr Aoife Waters and Dr Alf Nicholson of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, and Fergal Trace of the National Roads Authority, and is published in the current issue of the Irish Medical Journal.
It comprises a detailed analysis of all road deaths and injuries in the under-15 population over the five years between 1996 and 2000.
The authors found that of 69 children killed while travelling in a vehicle, only 23 per cent wore seat belts, while just 15 per cent of those seriously injured were restrained while travelling.
"Seat belt use is reasonably estimated to offer a reduction of not less than 40 per cent in road fatalities and serious injuries when worn by all car-users," the authors write.
"The National Road Safety Strategy aims to increase seat belt use to 85 per cent by 2002 from 55 per cent in 1999. However, preliminary data suggests that this aim has not been achieved."
Pedestrian injuries were found to be a leading cause of death and serious injury for school-age children. The age group most at risk is the 13-15 bracket, which accounted for 36 per cent of the 1,719 pedestrian deaths and injuries, while a large proportion of these occur while children were walking to and from school, especially between 3pm and 4pm.
One of the authors, paediatrician Dr Alf Nicholson, said one of the most significant findings was the low use of seat belts and child-seats.
"If you don't wear a seat belt, your risk of being hospitalised or killed is much higher," he said.
"It would be terrible to think that we are not putting them [ children] in car seats or seat belts. In Australia you can't leave a hospital unless your baby is properly restrained."
Dr Nicholson said the figures showed that the number of children killed on the Republic's roads was double that of Sweden.
"We would be quite middle- of-the-road. The road death rate in Sweden is about half our own, and the UK is not far behind them."
Referring to the 69 children killed while travelling in vehicles over the five-year period, Dr Nicholson added: "If we restrained all of our children and drove a little slower, there's no doubt that we would reduce that death toll quite a bit."
Meanwhile gardaí have released the names of two men killed in road crashes on Monday.
A man in his 40s who died when the car he was driving collided with a truck on the N11 north of Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, was James Harte of Brideswell, Gorey, Co Wexford.
The victim of a collision that happened near Loughrea, Co Galway, at 12.30am on Monday was Joseph Cahill (28), An Laighdecan, Claregalway, Co Galway.