Six out of 10 children are exposed to "plainly unacceptable" danger every time they travel in a car because they are not safely strapped in, according to the National Safety Council.
Alan Richardson, acting chief executive of the council, said six children had been killed in car accidents so far this year. "None was restrained," he said.
Figures showed 60 per cent of children were not restrained properly, he said, and two out of three car seats were not fitted properly.
At the launch of a DVD guide for parents and guardians on child safety in cars, Mr Richardson said the greatest risk a child faced every day when travelling was as a car passenger.
"Ensuring a child is properly restrained in a child seat can reduce injuries by between 90 and 95 per cent for rear-facing seats and by 60 per cent for forward facing seats." He said children up to the age of 12 should be restrained in child seats in the back seat of cars. It was essential that parents ensured the seat was appropriate for their child's height and weight, he added.
Paul Kealy, an expert in the installation of child car seats, called for "firmer policing" by gardaí of the requirement that children be restrained in cars.
The DVD, Child Safety In Cars, takes the viewer through the various seats needed at different stages in a child's development with an expert showing how they should be properly fitted.
Supt Declan O'Brien of the Garda National Traffic Bureau said the consequences for an unrestrained child in a car involved in an accident were "horrific".
The DVD will be available from maternity hospitals, public health centres and doctors' surgeries, or from the National Safety Council on 01 496 3422.
