I FEEL I must write to you concerning the matter of children not being safely strapped in when travelling in cars.

On Friday, June 29, at 9.50pm there was a car crash outside my house, in fact about two inches from my front wall.

Two vehicles had collided and one of them had landed on its roof. The young lady in the overturned vehicle had her seat belt on and she walked away from the crash with minor injuries.

The second car was obviously badly smashed up as it had turned the first vehicle over. In this car were two adults and three children. The driver was strapped in but the three children in the back were not. The youngest, a very small baby was being breast fed at the time of impact. All five people from this vehicle walked away, but two of the children had minor injuries from hitting the front seats with their faces.

Why do adults not realise that they are responsible for the safety of their children when travelling in a car? Most of the time the adults have their seat belts on and the children are either on an adult's lap or sitting/standing in the back. A child in an adult's arms at the impact will cushion the adult and take the full impact of the crash themselves.

These three children were lucky. Most children who are not strapped in are not. If you can afford to buy a car, insure it, tax it and put petrol in it then you can afford a basic car seat with a British Standard kite mark on it. Think before you set off is my child safe?

MRS CHRISTINE FARROW,

Edenbridge Road,

Enfield.

July 10, 2002 18:00