Parents urged to wise up on child seats as part of national Beep Beep! Day campaign to save little lives

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Brake is calling on parents to wise up to keeping their kids safe in their cars as a survey out today shows only one in four (26%) know the law on child and booster seats. Only one in six (16%) said they would use a child seat in cars until their child was 150cm tall, the height recommended by safety experts.

The calls come as Brake's annual Beep Beep! Day campaign kicks off, which aims to save little lives on roads. Over the next three months, 200 nurseries, pre-schools and children's centres are running Beep Beep! Days; special days that help teach tots and their parents about road safety and raise awareness about the need for drivers to slow down to protect families. Brake is urging more to sign up.

The survey of 1,000 parents of children under 10 by Brake also found:

• A shocking one in 20 (5%) said they never use a child or booster seat;
• More than a quarter (26%) have used a child seat or booster seat that did not fit properly;
• Half (47%) don't always ensure their child uses an appropriate child seat or booster seat when travelling in a taxi or someone else's car;
• More than a quarter (27%) have used a second hand child seat or booster seat, which is not recommended by safety experts

Every year more than 700 children under eight are killed or seriously injured on roads in the UK. Child restraints greatly reduce the risk of death or injury in a collision; if children are not properly restrained they will be thrown from their seat with great force, even in low-speed crashes, into the seat in front, the door, or through the windscreen.

UK law states that parents must use a child or booster seat until their child is either 12 years old or 135cm tall. However, Brake urges parents to follow best practice advice and wait until their child reaches 150cm before letting their child travel without a child booster seat.

Brake is also calling on parents of children age two -seven to encourage their nursery, pre-/infant school, or children's centre to hold a Beep Beep! Day to spread this and other life-saving messages to parents and start teaching tots and infants the road safety basics.