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	Almost one in three children killed in road accidents was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of their death.</h2>
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		New research from the&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1em;">Road Safety Auth</span><span style="font-size: 1em;">ority</span>&nbsp;(<span style="font-size: 1em;">RS</span><span style="font-size: 1em;">A</span>) shows that while the number of children aged 14 years and younger dying has fallen almost 90pc between 1997 and 2012, more than 20 deaths could have been avoided had the children been buckled in.</p>
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		The figures show that 262 lives were lost between 1997 and 2012 on our roads, and 1,107 young people were seriously injured. So far this year, four children have died.</p>
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		The Child Casualties Report 1997 to 2012 shows there was an 89pc reduction in the number of children killed and a 52pc drop in those seriously injured.</p>
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		The figures also show:</p>
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		* 110 (43pc) of the children killed were pedestrians.</p>
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		* Another 78 (42pc) were car passengers, while 464 children who were seriously injured were also travelling in cars.</p>
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		* Of the children killed, 23 were not wearing seatbelts.</p>
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		* Children are most at risk of being killed on the roads between 4pm and 6pm, the time they are most likely to be travelling home from school.</p>
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		The RSA asked parents to ensure their child was kitted out with the necessary road safety gear, including a bicycle helmet, working lights on their bicycle and a high-vis vest.</p>
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		Children should always be accompanied by an adult so they can learn how to use the road safely, while children travelling by bus should be taught to wear their safety belt.</p>
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		RSA chief executive Noel Brett said: &quot;As parents and educators, we have a responsibility to teach our children how to be safe when walking, cycling, getting the bus or being driven to school&quot;</p>
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		Meanwhile, a third of drivers admit to speeding while a majority of motorists say they see others driving too fast every day. An online survey of 16,300 drivers by AA Ireland found that 71pc of respondents witnessed others speeding on a daily basis while 32pc admitted to driving too fast themselves.</p>
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		Not surprisingly, the poll found that males are more likely to speed than their female counterparts with 35pc of men admitting to frequently driving at excessive speeds compared with 30pc of women.</p>
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		The survey comes as the number of fatal road accidents is starting to creep up again.</p>
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		Seventeen people died on Irish roads last month and there have been 128 road fatalities so far this year &ndash; up 9pc from the same time last year.</p>
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		<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-seatbelt-cause-of-one-in-three-child-deaths-on-roads-29544192.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-seatbelt-cause-of-one-in-three-child-deaths-on-roads-29544192.html</a></p>
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