As the most convenient way of getting from A to B, cars are undoubtedly essential for the modern parent. Yet despite how safe vehicles and roads have become in the 21st century, driving is not entirely risk-free. Many parents worry about how they can best protect their children when they need to drive them somewhere.

There are actually a number of things people can do to make their cars safer and more comfortable for child passengers. It only takes a small amount of research and preparation to make a big difference. The tips in this short guide should help keep your child passengers calm and comfy, protect them against any unexpected events along the way, and prevent them from causing any.

• Install the right car seat: The single biggest thing that will make a difference to your child’s safety is their car seat. The trouble is finding the right one. So many people seem to have so many different opinions, especially if you look online at forums and reviews. These often degrade into arguments over different manufacturers and models of car seats. These things matter, but what is more important is how well the seat fits your child and your car. Also important is how easy it is for you to install correctly.

Remember that every car seat is designed to handle only a single accident. Their structure can weaken after an accident even if they do not visibly appear damaged. For this reason, avoid buying second-hand.

• Childproof the windows: Besides the obvious injury risks of young children opening car windows on a journey, this can also be very distracting for the driver. To make the car safer for everyone, have the passenger car window controls disabled.

Doing this makes things safer, but it leads to one additional problem. The sun can feel incredibly hot when it passes through car windows, even if there is air conditioning. A car side window sun shade can help prevent child passengers from getting too hot and uncomfortable.

• Activate child locks: Like with car windows, children fiddling with car doors is a recipe for disaster. Be sure to activate child safety locks so that the doors can only be opened from the outside.

This should be one of your car’s inbuilt safety features, so the car manual should explain how to activate them.

• Use an organiser: Cars which regularly transport child passengers can quickly become full of clutter such as toys and feeding bottles. However, these could be dangerous. They could turn into projectiles inside the cabin in the event of a crash, or they could roll under the pedals.

Packing them away inside an organiser will help prevent these dangers as well as make it easier to find things when you need them.

• No mirrors: One supposed safety measure that most experts do not recommend is installing mirrors to watch your child in the back of the car. These can be extremely distracting to the driver and could come loose during an accident.

These tips show that just a few simple steps can help you look after your passengers no matter how young they may be, and they also make car journeys safer for you too.