As a parent, you will have road safety concerns that change as your child grows. These concerns are legitimate. Road crashes are one of the biggest causes of 'accidental' death and injuries of children, and teenage drivers are far more likely to crash than older drivers. This page summarises helpful advice parents need from birth to learning to drive. You can also read our mascot's Zak the Zebra's top travel tips for parents of younger children here.

Baby seats in cars
Never hold a baby in your arms in a vehicle - use a new and modern baby seat suitable for their size and weight. Follow the fitting instructions exactly. If it is possible to fit your baby's seat safely in the middle of the back of your car then this is the safest place because your baby is furthest away from the shell of your car. If you need to use a taxi, book one that you can fit your baby seat into.

Crash protection and safe driving
The safety of your baby in their baby seat and older children in child seats will also depend on the crash protection provided by the car you choose. For crash test results follow this link. The other critical factor is of course your own driving standard. Drive well within speed limits, particularly on rural roads and in town, and put your phone on message service and out of reach. Sign up to our Pledge2DriveSafely.

Buggies and push chairs
If you use a buggy or push chair, strap in your child securely and hold the buggy well back from the edge of the road when getting ready to cross. If you can carry the weight, front and back carriers are a much safer way to carry babies near busy roads, and mean your hands are free. Modern back carriers come with good amounts of storage space for shopping. If you use a buggy and push it down hills, use a strap that goes around your wrist and around the buggy handle; this means if you slip and let go, the buggy won't roll away into a road.

Holding hands
When your child starts to walk with you around your community, talk to them about how they must always hold your hand. Make sure hand holding is your number one rule your child always follows. If your child is likely to pull away from you, use safety reins or a wrist strap. Hold hands until your child is at least eight, depending on their development.

Teach road safety
Use the internet to teach road safety to your child from the age of 2 using fun games and rhymes. Go to our list of children's road safety sites. Talk to your child about road safety when walking around your town. Make sure they understand the meaning of stop, traffic, danger, look, listen, walk don't run, and other key words. Encourage your child's nursery or playgroup to teach road safety through  a Beep Beep Day. If your child is at school, encourage the school to take part in the Giant Walking Bus project. Your child's learning will be more effective if they are taught about road safety at school as well as at home.

Keep using child seats
Child seats are not just for infants. Children have delicate bodies and should use a child seat until they are 150cm tall (nearly 5 feet). Use new, modern seats suitable for their size and weight. Ensure their head is supported well - whiplash can kill and cause spinal injury.

Nursery/school trips
Is your child safe on their exciting trip out? Are they in a safe modern coach with 3-point belts and using their child seat? Or in the cheapest possible minibus only fitted with lap belts? Lap belts are dangerous - your child could die from internal injuries or whiplash. Stand up for your right to safety on nursery or school trips. Go to our advice for teachers on school trips.

Accepting lifts from friends and relatives
It is just as important that your child is appropriately restrained in other people's cars, and driven slowly and safely. If you are unsure, don't let them go. In some situations it might be socially awkward, but you must stand up for you child's right to be safe, always.

When to allow your child to walk on their own around local roads
Children under 8 should always hold hands with an adult around roads. Whether you allow your child to use roads on their own when they are 8 is up to you. You will have to consider their development and levels of traffic danger. It may be better to wait until they are older. If there are high levels of traffic danger, start a campaign for slower speeds or crossing places or whatever your community needs. If your child's school doesn't run practical pedestrian training, contact your local authority to ask if this is possible. Read our advice for teachers on practical pedestrian and cycle training for kids. 

Whether to allow your child to cycle on roads in your community
Children under 10 are not recommended to cycle on roads. Traffic danger is high on many roads, making them unsafe for children of any age, particularly fast and bendy rural roads and busy town roads without space for cyclists. Happily, some communities now have great cycling facilities, including separate paths for cyclists. If not, start a campaign for cycling facilities. Seek cycle training for your child - even if it's not safe for them to cycle on local roads, this is helpful if you are planning a cycling holiday. You can also visit our Cycle4Life advice for cyclists.

Cycle helmets and high vis clothing
If your child cycles, ensure they wear a new helmet fitted securely. Set a good example and ensure the whole family wears helmets. Helmets prevent life-long brain injury. If your child cycles on roads, insist they always wear a high visibility vest made from reflective as well as fluorescent materials.

Going to secondary school
Be aware that your child's risk of dying or being injured on foot or on a bicycle increases as they gain independence. Peer pressure can cause children to forget road safety training and muck about on roads. Keep talking about road safety with your child, know where they are going, and help them to plan the safest possible routes using pavements and crossings. Encourage their school to take part in Brake's 2young2die campaign and competition, helping pupils feel passionate about, and committed, to road safety.   

Teenagers accepting lifts from mates
Talk to your teenager about the dangers of accepting lifts from mates driving cars or motorbikes. Young drivers, young male drivers in particular, are the highest risk group of drivers due to underestimation of risks, lack of awareness of hazards, and propensity to speed, drink and drug drive, use phones when driving and not belt up. Agree with your teenager that you will always pick them up when they need you to, even if it's very late at night. Make sure their phone is charged up, has your mobile on speed dial, and tell them they can call you any time, day or night. It might be an inconvenience, but better safe than sorry. If you don't drive, give your teenager emergency taxi money and taxi numbers in case they get stranded somewhere without a lift and need to get  home.  

Learning to drive
Many young people see driving as their route to independence. But the younger someone learns to drive, the greater the risk of them crashing. There is often no real need for young people to drive or own a car; it's dangerous, expensive, and environmentally damaging. If your son or daughter is going on to higher or further education after school, then they will probably be living somewhere with access to public transport. Encourage them to spend their cash on something more constructive than a car, such as a great holiday. If they are determined to learn to drive, offer an incentive to delay, for example an offer to pay for their driving lessons if they wait until they are 21.If your son or daughter is already learning to drive, encourage them to explore our website www.2young2die.info and sign up to our Pledge2DriveSafely.