Child safety seats must be replaced following a car accident, it has been claimed.
Research by Direct Line found that a quarter of parents with children between the ages of three and 12 do not use a child seat at all.
A fifth of those surveyed said they did not believe that a child seat needed to be replaced after a low-speed collision.
By law, child seats are required until the child is either 135 centimetres tall or reaches the age of 12.
Every year, around 30 children aged 11 or under are killed while travelling in cars, while around 400 are injured.
Many deaths could be prevented simply by installing a child seat in the vehicle.
Maggie Game, head of car insurance at Direct Lines commented: "What might seem like a minor accident can undermine your child’s safety if you are involved in a subsequent collision."
According to the most recent findings by the department for transport, there were 258,404 casualties on British roads in 2006.
Child seats ‘must be replaced’ after accidents
June 30th, 2008
UK roads an ‘accident waiting to happen’
June 26th, 2008British roads are an accident waiting to happen, it has been claimed.
Research by Insurance.co.uk found that more than half (52 per cent) of UK motorists admit there is a significant possibility they would not pass a resit of their driving exam.
Steve Grainger, head of the comparison website, commented: "Even the most competent driver, after years on the road, can become complacent. Many drivers assume that passing their test is where the learning stops and the open road begins. However, our research shows that bad habits come all too easy."
The survey of 1,000 drivers found that only 27 per cent could identify a ‘No Waiting’ sign, while nearly one in ten could not recognise a ‘No Overtaking’ sign.
Other common errors made by drivers include turning without signalling (48 per cent) and turning without checking the mirror (28 per cent).
Lincolnshire police recently urged young drivers to slow down after a teenage girl was killed after she was hit by a careless driver, reports the Fenland Citizen.
