Parents urged to follow 30-second check to avoid £5,000 fine

“There is a very real chance you could be charged with careless driving, which can carry with it a fine of up to £5,000”

Drivers have been reminded of the 30-second check that will ensure their children stay safe and they keep on the right side of the law. Child locks have been a feature on cars for decades, allowing drivers to control who can open rear doors from inside the vehicle.

This means kids, especially young ones who may not understand the safety implications, are not able to release the handle and put themselves and other road users in danger. But one motoring expert says some parents aren’t aware of the rules and may not know how to check if the child locks are working correctly – especially in older models.

Graham Conway, from vehicle leasing company Select Car Leasing, said: “Car child locks are an essential safety feature designed to prevent children from opening vehicle doors while the car is in motion. There are no specific laws covering the use of child locks in this country, but it is up to drivers to ensure the safety of all passengers.

“The Road Traffic Act and seatbelt laws impose a duty of care on them, which extends to ensuring that child passengers are securely restrained.

“And if, for example, a child lock was not engaged and your son or daughter opened the door while you were travelling, there is a very real chance you could be charged with careless driving, which can carry with it a fine of up to £5,000.”

Graham suggests every driver gets themselves acquainted with how the child locks work in their own vehicle. It’s a quick 30-second check.

For modern cars, this is generally through a switch on the dashboard or driver’s door controls. For older models it’s more of a manual task, but only takes a matter of seconds.

He said: “Open the rear doors and look for a switch, which may look like a white or metal button or knob. Very often there is some sort of diagram next to it to indicate how to turn it off and on. This is best done with a key or screwdriver, flicking it to and from the active position.

“Once this is done, close the door and test it by attempting to open it from the inside.”

Graham says child locks should be checked regularly, and also warned that window disabling controls are important for ensuring the safety of younger passengers.

He added: “While allowing them to open and close windows is not the risk you have with car doors, there is the potential for injury if they stick a hand or arm out of the opening and it strikes something outside the vehicle.

“Also, they could get a limb stuck in the window if they then try to close it.

“Most cars will have a switch close to the master window controls on the driver’s door which will render the rear window controls inactive.”