Sir, - I agree completely with Michael O' Reilly's comments (August 10th) regarding the poor and infrequent use of seatbelts and car seats for children.
There are many parents who will have said, "not me" to Mr O'Reilly's comments as they ensure their children are always strapped in for even the shortest of journeys. Yet come September some of these safety-conscious parents will allow their children to embark on overcrowded school buses with not a seatbelt in sight.
Isn't it time we demanded not just an improvement on the buses themselves, but also an assurance that children will be seated securely on them? It is also an all too common sight to see infants leaving our maternity hospitals, where they have been fussed and fretted over, only to be ferried home lying in their mothers' arms in the back of a car. I cannot understand how someone who has carried a child for nine months, whether it was planned or unplanned, has not had the foresight to make a car seat top of their list of baby essentials.
We have seen the disturbing advertisements on television showing the dangers of drink driving and not wearing seatbelts. This campaign should now be taken a step further to highlight the dangers for children and infants travelling in cars without due care for their safety. - Yours, etc.,
Deardra Phelan, Portlaoise, Co Laois.