Concerns about children not in car seats raised by Mayo councillor

THE issue of parents travelling in cars with young children who are not in child seats has been raised with a Mayo elected representative.

Following the recent AXA Road Safety Roadshow in Castlebar, a number of people contacted Councillor Michael Kilcoyne about people driving their children to school with no seats for the youngsters.

He appealed to parents: “Your child is the most precious person in the car. Please ensure they have a proper car seat.”

It would be no harm, he suggested, if from time to time the gardaí did checks at schools that parents have seats.

It has been suggested that the AXA Road Safety Roadshow should be rolled out in communities across Mayo.

The suggestion was made after 1,600 secondary school students from the county attended the roadshow, which really struck a chord with attendees, in Castlebar.

Councillor Christy Hyland suggested it should be presented in every municipal district, in local theatres and community centres, to get the message out to the people.

On accidents in general, Councillor Seamus Weir said it is important to know the data as to what happened in each incident. There were many aspects to accidents and knowing the data was part of the learning process.

Mobile phone use was highlighted as a serious cause of accidents by Councillor Richard Finn. Until penalties were increased we wouldn't see any major decrease in accidents.

Educating young people about driving in inclement weather also needed to be addressed so they understand the difference between a wet road and a dry one.

“If we do the simple things right we will have more safety on the roads,” he said.

The ongoing issue with boy racers - active again on a recent Sunday night in Castlebar - was again highlighted by Councillor Donna Sheridan.

Fitting dashcams in vehicles was encouraged by Councillor John Caulfield, who said they are of huge benefit especially in solving accidents.

The need for figures that show where a medical condition was behind an accident occurring was suggested by Councillor Ger Deere. This would help give a clearer understanding of accidents.