EVERY buyer of a new Ford will find an aircraft-style safety card in the vehicle glovebox from this summer. The card describes how to get the best safety benefits from equipment such as seat belts and headrests and provides tips on the best way to fit child seats.

'Safety on the road has become such a critical issue that we have decided to become the first volume car maker to take this step. We'll be producing 1.7 million cards initially to go into each vehicle we sell in European markets and will arrange for supplies to be made available so present owners can collect one from our dealerships,' said a company spokesman.