Buckling up saves children’s lives

These include the failure of a driver to wear a seatbelt; the failure of a passenger to wear a seatbelt; the failure of the driver to ensure passengers are appropriately restrained and the failure of a driver to ensure passengers under the age of 16 are properly restrained. The fines for these offenses will increase to $550.

Police figures showed that tragically, since 2009, 13 Western Australian children under the age of 17 have lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes where they were not properly restrained. According to statistics in the 2013-14 financial year, 2232 infringements were issued in Western Australia to motorists who failed to properly restrain children.

Local MLA Terry Redman has joined parliamentary colleagues in urging drivers to ensure any child passengers are correctly buckled up, even on the shortest of journeys.

He said while it was understandable people often felt they were being bombarded with health and safety messages, he was more than happy to help spread a message that could save children's lives.

"The vast majority of West Australian parents take every care to ensure their children are correctly restrained for travel, but a small minority don't and are putting their children at risk," Mr Redman said.

"As people in Warren-Black wood know only too well, some parents can follow all the correct restraint procedures and still suffer the tragic loss of their children in an accident.

"However it's crucial to remember that not ensuring children are correctly buckled up dramatically increases the odds of serious injury or death," he said.

"With research indicating unrestrained passengers are at 10 times the risk of fatality in a crash as those wearing seatbelts, the message could not be any clearer that buckling up saves lives.

"So whether we're driving five hours or five minutes down the road, ensuring any child passengers are properly restrained can help to prevent the most devastating of outcomes a child's death," Mr Redman said.