Most Sligo school children not wearing seat belts, survey finds

Road safetyThe majority of primary school children in Sligo do not wear seat belts while travelling in cars, according to a medical survey which is prompting local gardaí to take action.

Research carried out by staff of the paediatric unit at Sligo General Hospital found that 54.5 per cent of children attending eight primary schools in the city do not wear seat belts.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Hilary Greaney, who is based at the hospital, said that one of the most alarming observations made by the team was the number of parents who belt up themselves but who do not ensure that their small children are properly restrained.

The survey of 380 school children travelling in 199 cars found that a disturbing 30 per cent of the children travelled in the front of the vehicle, contrary to the advice of the National Safety Council.

Of those, 46 per cent did not wear a seat belt.

Researchers found that 62 per cent of the children travelling in the back of the car did not wear a seat belt.

Overall, 54.5 per cent of children observed leaving the eight schools were not properly restrained. Researchers observed pupils leaving the schools taking note of those travelling by car only and excluding those travelling by bus or van from the survey.

Dr Sarah Leer, one of the authors of the report which was unveiled at the sixth annual research conference in Sligo General Hospital, described the finding as disappointing and very worrying.

She told colleagues that the paediatric department had consulted both the National Safety Council and gardaí in the region about the findings.

As a result, uniformed gardaí intend to visit every primary school in counties Sligo and Leitrim to spell out the dangers of not being properly restrained.

Gardaí have also undertaken to increase the presence of uniformed officers outside schools where possible in a bid to prompt children to belt up.

Delegates at the conference questioned whether those who disobey the seat belt legislation were being sanctioned by penalty points in the same way as those who exceed the speed limit.

Drivers who fail to ensure that passengers under 17 are properly restrained are breaking the law. "It really upsets me when I see adults strapping themselves in while not getting their children to do the same," said Dr Greaney. "It is actually much more important for a child to be restrained because their skeletons are not as well developed and so the risk of internal trauma is greater."

She said the rules should require that cars do not move until everyone is strapped in and that children are required to travel in the back.

Dr Leer pointed out that misuse of safety devices in cars was very common with many children wearing seat belts inappropriate to their size.

The general guidelines are that babies up to nine months are required to travel in rear-facing seats, infants aged from nine months to four years should travel in baby seats, children aged four to six in booster seats which have side and head supports while children aged up to 11 should travel on booster cushions.

But Dr Leer pointed out that weight, not age, was the key factor in deciding which mode of transport was most appropriate.

She said the research was troubling not least because 282 passengers under 14 died or were seriously injured on the roads in 2003.

Of the children who died, 77 per cent were not wearing seat belts or the appropriate restraints.