By now, knowing how to secure your child in the appropriate car safety seat should be second nature to every local family. But still, not a day goes by and a child is seen with either his head hanging out of a car window or sitting on a passenger’s lap.

But the ‘it won’t happen to me’ mentality is too dangerous and puts children at risk, says Road Safety Officer Roxanne Christopher.

“As a parent, myself, I understand the frustration that many parents have when their children are in the car. They want to be able to console their crying baby by taking the child out of their safety seat and letting a passenger hold the child in their arms or on their laps.

“But I vehemently oppose that and I suggest that parents pull over until the child has calmed down,” she advises.

Ms Christopher adds if parents do not properly secure their child in the car they are taking a chance and assuming that other drivers on the road are not going to cause an accident.

“Prevention is much better than cure,” she states.

The Road Safety Council (RSC), with the assistance of the Police, who continue to distribute citations to parents who are not using the proper restraint, is hoping to make its message clear.

“It’s not about just strapping the seatbelt across your child. Sometimes that’s just not enough because the seatbelt might not fit properly. Children have to be in the appropriate car seat to ensure that they are safe,” Ms Christopher explains (See side bar for requirements).

Sometimes using graphic images to get its point across to the Island’s residents, the RSC promotes the proper use of restraints for children in cars.

One of the advertisements, which Ms Christopher keeps in her office, is an almost life size poster of a baby- bruised and battered in a neck brace.

“This is the reality of not restraining your children in the car. They will get hurt,” she says pointing at the poster of the baby, who

poster of the baby who looks no more than six months old.

But the road safety officer says that in the end it is in the parents’ hands to make the right decision.

“We have over 90 percent compliance with the general public using seatbelts,” she says. “But parents are more likely to protect themselves by strapping on a seatbelt then they are to make sure their children are properly secured because they have this notion that it won’t happen to me.”

Ms Christopher also urges parents to pressure schools and child pick-up services to restrain their charges. “When schools for younger children are taking them on outings, my concern is that child care providers are not thinking about what’s best for the children because they are accustomed to just grabbing the kids and putting them in the car instead of making sure they are properly restrained.”

Currently, the seatbelt law does not include community service vehicles but Ms Christopher says it is something the RSC will be considering in the future.

She adds: “The days when driving was a leisurely pastime is not an option anymore. There are so many more vehicles on the road and people drive more dangerously. Parents now must take the proper precautions.”

Strap in your babies, no matter the distance