It is always important that drivers behave responsibly, but this is particularly true when children are in the vehicle. According to a study by Monash University, kids are 12 times more distracting to drivers than talking on a smartphone. The study tracked parents’ driving behavior and found that they took their eyes off the road for an average of more than three minutes in a 16-minute trip.
If you regularly drive with children, keep these five safety tips in mind:
Make Sure They Buckle Up: 34 percent of children aged 12 and younger who died in car accidents in 2014 were not wearing seat belts.
Do Not Let Kids Share Seat Belts: A seat belt will not function properly when two people are strapped in.
Use an Appropriate Car Seat: Toddlers aged 1 to 4 years old are 54 percent less likely to die in motor-vehicle accidents if they are sitting in a car seat.
Do Not Let Young Kids Sit in the Front Seat: Young kids are not strong enough to withstand the force of an airbag, so they should sit in the back seat and never Tolerate Distracting Behavior. You can easily become distracted by children who are moving around or shouting in the car.
Unfortunately, even the safest drivers cannot control the actions of other motorists.