One in f ive don’t strap children in

Parents warned to ensure seatbelt safety as shock report shows high level of recklessness

ONE in five Irish children do not wear seatbelts when travelling in cars, shocking new figures show.

A study of 13,600 children across 230 primary and post-primary schools found 19% don’t always wear a belt, with boys failing to buckle up more often than girls (21% versus 18%).

The Health Behaviours in School Children survey found that children were slightly less likely to belt up as they got older. For example, 80% of boys between the ages of 10 and 11 said they always wear a seatbelt, while the compliance rate for boys aged 15 to 17 is 78%.

Separate research from the Road Safety Authority has shown that one in five passengers and drivers who died in crashes didn’t wear seatbelts. Experts estimate two in three people will survive a crash if they are wearing a seatbelt.

In 2014, 13 children lost their lives on Irish roads.

Although wearing a seatbelt has been mandatory in front seats since 1971, and in rear seats since 1992, the parents of young Irish children are not always insisting on their use.

RSA spokesman Brian Farrell told the Mail that ensuring children wear seatbelts is a parental responsibility. ‘Drivers are legally responsible for anyone aged 17 and under to wear seatbelts and currently there are three penalty points for failure to ensure a minor is adequately restrained in the back seat.

‘It’s very sad that we have to be using language like that and threatening points for parents to do what they should be doing as responsible parents to ensure the safety of their children.’

An observational study of seatbelt usage conducted by the RSA in 2013 found that 93% of front passengers and 89% of rear passengers were fastening their seatbelts in cars.

The HBSC report found that young girls (10 and 11-year-olds) self-reported as the most likely to wear a seat belt (88%). But this figure falls to 81% by the time a girl reaches 12 to 14 years, and increases marginally to 82% for 15 to 17-year-olds.

The overall findings of the report, which was carried out for the Department of Health by the Health Promotion Research Centre at the NUI Galway, were described as encouraging, with schoolchildren eating more fruit and vegetables, smoking less and consuming fewer sweets.

But the proportion of children who are dieting has risen, with sharp differences emerging in girls, depending on social class. In 2010, 9% of girls in the lowest social class reported they were dieting. But by last year this figure had jumped to 21%. There was also a sharp increase for 15 to 17-year-old girls, where 35% of girls in the lowest social class said they were dieting, compared to 24% in 2010.

Wealth also plays a role in determining whether 15 to 17-year-olds diet, with boys and girls from poorer families more likely to diet than those from average or welloff families.

More than a quarter (27%) of 15-17 year olds said they had had sex – an increase from the 2010 figure of 23%.

The report found that boys were twice as likely as girls to be involved in a physical fight (40% versus 17%) but girls were more likely to be cyberbullied than boys – almost one in six compared to one in ten boys social class played a large role in the likelihood that a young girl would be cyberbullied, with 10 to 11-year-olds from the poorest families three times more likely to be bullied online than those from the richest families (20% versus 6%).

Belts not worn in fifth of fatal crashes

NEVER have children received as much love and attention as today. At home they are cherished like no earlier generation, and the guiding principle of modern parenting is focused on making childhood as happy as possible.

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule – dysfunctional families who for whatever reason cannot provide their offspring with the stability they need for healthy development. But the passage of the Children’s Rights Referendum in 2012 attempted to address that by ensuring that children’s best interests are central to every decision taken by the State on their behalf.

In terms of public policy, an entire industry has flourished devoted to establishing how child development can be optimised. There are exhaustive studies into the benefits of breastfeeding, the importance of excellent childcare and the free pre-school year’s advantages.

Even in austerity the Government invested in children. The under-sixes were the first cohort to benefit from the rollout of universal health coverage in the form of free GP care. Given this wideranging emphasis on giving children the very best start in life, the WHO survey into 13,500 schoolchildren which shows that one in five Irish children do not wear seatbelts, seems scarcely credible.

There cannot be a driver ignorant of the ‘fasten your seatbelt’ campaigns, thanks to the efforts of the Road Safety Authority in highlighting the terrible carnage that can be caused without seatbelts. Yet a review by the RSA and the gardaí this summer showed that more than a third of drivers and passengers killed on the roads since the start of this year were not wearing a seatbelt.

It seems extraordinary that so many motorists are not just irresponsible with their own safety but also exposing the children on which they lavish such care in other respects, to such levels of risks.

Wearing a seatbelt is a simple precaution that calls for nothing more than a few seconds of concentration .

Perhaps now is the time for another campaign highlighting how buckling up can be the single most effective factor in saving lives and preventing grave injury. And perhaps on this occasion, the campaign should feature children as well those who are charged with their care.