THE HEAD of the Road Safety Authority has described as “murderous” the behaviour of parents who do not have their children properly secured in cars.
Noel Brett, chief executive officer of the RSA, said children who were not properly restrained could be “thrown around like a rag doll, even in a low-speed collisions”.
It was not unusual for drivers in traffic to see “a child standing up, looking out the back window at you, or standing up between the two front seats,” he told listeners to Midlands 103’s Midlands Today show yesterday.
“That’s just murderous behaviour,” he said.
Mr Brett had been invited to speak on the programme following a court report detailing how a father lost his driver’s licence for a year at Tullamore District Court on Wednesday for road traffic offences, including failing to have an infant properly secured in his vehicle. The child was sitting on its mother’s knee in the car.
The court heard the defendant, who was also fined €500, had been stopped before for the same offence and was also without road tax.
Mr Brett said “the vast, vast majority of parents really have taken road safety to heart and the safety of their child to heart”.
However, he stressed that it was important that seats were appropriate to the age and height of the child and were properly fitted. He urged parents to check the RSA website for details.
Of the 10 children under the age of 13 who died on the roads last year, six of them were passengers.
Head of the Garda National Traffic Bureau Chief Supt Gabriel McIntyre said gardaí would welcome a proactive response from the public who are aware of drivers who put their children at risk. “We would encourage members of the public, where they see irresponsible behaviour with children, to notify us and we’ll take action,” he said.
“We would easily call on people and advise them of the dangers. The majority of motorists are very, very compliant, but there’s still the odd person neglectful,” he said.