Parents are being warned of the dangers of putting heavy winter coats on children in the car.
Scottish winters can be brutal, so every parent knows their kids need a cosy coat to wrap up warm when they're heading out.
But experts say making them wear a jacket in the car could be potentially fatal due to safety issues.
That's because straps and seatbelts that go over a bulky coat are actually dangerously loose, despite it appearing like the child is strapped in safely.
In a video to illustrate the risks involved, crash tests show a child dummy fully strapped in to a car seat wearing a coat hurtling from their safety restraints in a simulated 30mph crash.
A shocking clip from the Good Egg Safety video shows a dummy being strapped in a seat wearing a winter coat - the coat is then removed and the straps put back on to show how loose the straps are.
Margaret Bolt, Good Egg Safety car seat expert, told the MEN : "Without adjusting the harness and doing the buckle back up, you can see how much movement there is in those straps and how much slack there in fact still is.
"Now if they wear a winter coat in a car seat and the car is involved in a crash, all the padding in the coat will be compressed and effectively this is how loose the straps are and the child could be ejected from the seat."
Parents are being urged to remove their kids' bulky coats before strapping them in and then, if they're cold before the car warms up, they should place the coat over the child to keep them warm.
The advice also applies to adults.
Nick Lloyd, road safety manager at RoSPA, agreed, adding: "If a child is wearing a thick jacket or bodysuit the harness cannot be firmly fastened around the child meaning that it will not fit in the right place and importantly it will not be close enough to the child’s body.
"In an accident the harness will need to compress the jacket before it can restrain the child.
"This reduces the safety of the seat considerably and therefore it is not recommended that thick jackets or bodysuits are worn."
Julie Dagnall, of Child Seat Safety Ltd, said: "As winter is approaching, it’s very tempting to wrap our children up in big warm coats in the car, but this can stop the harness or shield from fitting across the child correctly and can mean that the child could be ejected from their car seat in a collision.
"It’s always best to remember to have indoor clothes on in the car, with the harness tight and fastened as close to the skin as possible.
"If you think they’ll be cold, place a blanket or their coat on top of them. Just check it doesn't stop the car seat from working properly and isn't going to make them overheat especially if they are young babies."
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