Cape Town - A study by the Automobile Association (AA) has revealed that despite consistent efforts by role-players to enforce the use of child car seats (CR systems), a third of children are still travelling without them.
The observational research, which was conducted earlier this year, monitored car seat usage of 1000 children at various shopping malls across Gauteng. While the study was conducted in Gauteng, the AA’s Layton Beard said it is still relevant for the rest of the country.
AA spokesperson Eleanor Mavimbela said that although car seat usage appears to be increasing, too many people are relying on seatbelts to restrain children, which is neither legal nor safety appropriate.
“Too many children remain unrestrained in proper car seats in vehicles in the country. This situation requires better traffic law enforcement and better education for drivers on the necessity of car seats. It is concerning that a third of children are still travelling completely unrestrained.”
The AA study also revealed 30% of fatalities on South African roads in 2020 were passengers in vehicles, according to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
Of the 30% of passenger fatalities, 4% were children between the ages of 0 and 4, 4% between the ages of 5 and 9, and 5% between the ages of 10 and 14, said the AA.
“While it is encouraging that laws on CR Systems exist in South Africa, a review of the current laws that determine CR systems usage based on age is needed. The AA said the height and weight of babies and toddlers should be the determining factor rather than the age, given that children of the same age may differ significantly in size. The age factor may be determining seat belt usage instead of the usage of proper CR systems.”
CR systems have been shown to reduce injuries in children aged 5-9 by 52% while safety belts reduce injuries by only 19%, according to the AA.
Mavimbela said while it must also be noted that while flawed, the South African legislation currently prescribes that children aged 3 years or younger must be secured in proper CR systems.
“Another critical factor in terms of CRS usage is enforcement and fines for non-compliance. In South Africa, the fine for non-compliance is R250, while in other countries it can be beyond R9000, which sends a clear message that not using CR systems is a grave offence,” she said.