CHILD CAR PASSENGERS A ‘SIGNIFICANT HAZARD’

Research shows child passangers could be a hazard

Children in the back of your car could be a significant safety hazard, an experiment conducted by experts at Leeds University has suggested.

The experiment was commissioned by BBC One's Inside Out, which investigates the toll of deaths and serious injuries on Yorkshire's main holiday routes.

Motorist Patrice Morris, a mother of three, volunteered to take part in two sessions on the university's driving simulator.

During one of the sessions Patrice was alone, and during the other she was with two of her children, Oliver aged three and 18 month old Louisa.

Driving a virtual holiday journey with her children in the car:

Her heart rate leapt by almost 50 per cent,
The speed she drove increased,
The safety margin she allowed other vehicles halved.

Expected results

CAR JOURNEY TIPS

1. Prepare your car. Check oil, tyres and lights. Ensure that the windscreen is clean.

2. Ensure you have enough fuel.

3. Take regular breaks. If you feel tired, pull over and rest and drink strong coffee or a caffeine drink.

4. Take books or games to entertain the children, but nothing that provokes conflict or noise

5. Plan your route. Plan to avoid the jams by setting off later or returning earlier.

Patrice, whose children are generally well behaved and created little disruption during the test, apart from on unscheduled toilet stop for Oliver, was not surprised by the result.

She says, "'I could almost feel the difference in heart rate between having the children with me and without me at the time."

Police concern

PCs Clare Sawyer and Matt Knowles from North Yorkshire Police say that the A64 in their patch has three accident hotspots with casualty rates well above the local average.

Clare was recently called to a car on its roof near Pickering with a female passenger trapped by her neck. Matt has recently had to attend to two incidents with children not wearing seatbelts.