Parents disregard child seatbelt use

Foolish parents are not buckling up their children and some are even being busted with kids in car footwells while doing the school run.

Victoria Police figures show 10,610 drivers have been nabbed in the last five years for driving with an unrestrained child.

Those caught are fined $332 and stripped of three demerit points. Victoria Police State Highway Patrol Inspector David Griffin blasted those gambling with the lives of children.

"It is highly irresponsible and reprehensible. Young children, in particular, do not understand or appreciate the importance of being restrained and do not comprehend the potential consequences associated with failing to wear a seatbelt," Insp Griffin said.

"As parents, guardians and drivers, we are all responsible for the safety of every passenger, particularly children. There is no excuse for not protecting children."

A father narrowly avoided jail this year after his nine-year-old daughter, who was not buckled up, died when the truck he was driving failed to take a bend and rolled off the Glenelg Highway in November 2012. The driver and another daughter, six, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

There were 2036 motorists caught for the offence between 2013 and 2014 including: 

A drunk mother who blew 0.154 crashed into two parked cars in Clifton Hill and had her three-year-old-child unrestrained in the back seat.

A dad was caught zooming at 148km/h in an 80km/h zone on the Western Ring Road with a two-year-old child unrestrained.

A mum taking five kids to school was charged after police found the children, aged six to eight, loose in the car; and A 19-YEAR-OLD suspended driver was nabbed with a six-year-old hidden in the front passenger footwell while her two-year-old son and another girl, aged three, were unrestrained in the back. 

Insp Griffin said the consequences of not wearing seat belts were disastrous.

"An unrestrained passenger can be thrown around the inside of a vehicle like a pinball, impacting with steel and glass that will cause significant injuries or death," he said.

"An unrestrained person can easily be ejected from a vehicle, something that occurs all too often. It is not unusual for ejected passengers to be crushed or to be hit by other vehicles."