Pretoria - Child Passenger Safety Week officially started yesterday and this year’s theme is “Love clicked in” – a reminder to everyone to ensure that children are kept safe every time they get into a car.
This is the seventh year the campaign has been run in South Africa.
Despite constant progress in terms of vehicle safety, road traffic accidents still represent the number one cause of fatalities among children under the age of 10.
Regardless of it being law that every child under the age of 3 be securely strapped into a car seat, 93% of motorists, taxi and bus services flout this law, which is not effectively enforced by local and national police.
Most injuries in car accidents are due to a complete lack of any kind of child safety restraint, said Debbie Billson, operations director for Maxi-Cosi, who have been the driving force behind Child Passenger Safety Week since its inception in South Africa.
Child Passenger Safety Week runs internationally from September 17 for a week.
Billson said she could not stress enough the importance of children’s safety in motor vehicles. Under the theme of “Love clicked in”, Billson said their aim is to raise awareness of the importance of our children’s safety in vehicles.
“We want to educate and inform South African road users of the dangers of travelling on our roads with children who are not securely strapped into a car seat, as well as ensuring the car seat they use has undergone the minimum crash testing required.
“Clicking our children into a well-secured car seat needs to become something every single one of us do, no matter how short a car trip we are doing.”
She said an adult holding a child in their arms provides no protection in the event of an accident.
“In a crash at a speed of 50km/h, body weight is increased by around 30 times. For example, a child weighing approximately 30kg turns into a projectile weighing a ton. At the point of impact, no one is capable of restraining them.”
She added that the strength of the impact is equal to falling three storeys.
A recent study conducted by Arrive Alive found that seat belt use is much lower in the central business districts in South Africa. This suggests that road users believe that in low-speed environments, a seat belt is unimportant.
She said the Red Cross Memorial Hospital treats an average of 20 child passengers every month as a result of a car accident.
While children under the age of 3 are legally required to be securely restrained in a car seat, standard seat belts in most cars are designed for adult passengers 150cm and taller. This leaves children between the ages of 4 and 12 years requiring additional support in the form of a booster seat.
“Children under 150cm tall are not safe just being secured by a seat belt, they are physically not developed enough to be secure. The lower belt does not sit on their hips, as it is intended to do with adults. It rather ends up around their abdomen, which can result in fatal internal injuries in the case of a crash.
“The upper section of the belt rests dangerously across their neck, as opposed to being on their shoulder, and can easily break a child’s neck in the case of an accident. A simple booster seat can prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths,” she said.
South African consumers are fortunate to have a large selection of well-tested, reasonably priced car seat options and there is no excuse not to be using one, Billson said.
“The average car seat costs only 1% of the value of most cars in South Africa. For the average lifespan of a car seat, it works out to less than R2 per day to ensure your child is safe.”
Billson urged parents to show their child the ultimate form of love by clicking them into a secure car seat that will keep them safe when they are on the road.
According to Billson, the back seat is the safest place for a car seat, and it’s important to avoid placing car seats in the front passenger seat, especially if the car has an active airbag.
“Car crashes can happen anywhere, even on short trips, and it is thus essential to always buckle up your child in an appropriate car seat, regardless of the distance.”
She said children should use a booster seat until they can properly fit in an adult seat belt, “typically when they reach a height of 150cm and are between 4 and 12 years old”.
Billson said it was essential to select a car seat based on your child’s current height and weight to ensure proper safety and protection in case of a collision.
“Adjust the safety harness to the correct height, which should be at shoulder level, to prevent children from unbuckling themselves, or suffering from head flops during a collision.”
Billson added that rear-facing car seats are safest for babies and toddlers up to at least 15 months old. “The extended rear-facing position helps distribute collision forces and reduces the risk of neck injuries.”
Pretoria News