Only 7% of South African children are secured in car seats when travelling in a vehicle and 77% of installed car seats are incorrectly installed!
Local studies have indicated that only 7% of South African children are secured in car seats when travelling in a vehicle, resulting in 1000s of horrific deaths every year. Despite being law that every child under the age of three be securely strapped into a car seat, a shocking 93% of motorists, taxi services, bus services etc., flaunt this law, which is not effectively enforced by local and national police.
“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. Strapping 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!” says Debbie Bilson, Operations Director for Maxi-Cosi.
While children under the age of three 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, leaving children between the ages of four and 12 years old requiring additional support in the form of a booster seat.
“Children under 150cm are not safe just being secured by a seat belt, they are physically not developed enough to be secure,” says Bilson. “The lower belt doesn’t sit on their hips, as it is intended to do with adults, and 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.”
South African consumers are fortunate to have a large selection of well-tested, reasonably priced car seat options, there is no excuse not to be using one! “The average car seat costs a measly 1% of the value of most cars in SA,” exclaims Bilson. “For the average lifespan of a car seat it works out to less than R2 per day to ensure your child is safe – there honestly is NO EXCUSE to not be securing your child into a car seat every time they get into a vehicle!”
Visit www.arrivealive.co.za for more information.