Lap vs. Seat Belt vs. Child Car Seat . . . do you know fact from fiction?
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of infants, toddlers and pre-school-aged children who are being transported in cars and school buses, without any form of appropriate restraint or regard for safety.
In fact the exact number of children under the age of five riding on our roads is unknown. Nor are there any statistics regarding fatal accidents and injuries in this age group, despite India having one of the world's highest number of road fatalities.
Compared to the recent past, at least today most modern cars come fitted with both front and rear inertia reel seat belts, however these are formulated based on the passenger being a minimum of 5ft tall or 35 kgs in weight. For any individual smaller than this, these 'safety fittings', are not only ineffective but can actually cause serious injury in their own right.
As far as school and public transport go, neither options in India come fitted with seat belts, or even appropriate anchor systems to enable installation of child safety seats. As a consequence our young children are being put at high risk of accidental injury . . . a reality no matter how tightly or carefully we think we are holding our child.
In countries like the UK and US, safety developments are made using crash test dummies. The lives of our little ones are no less precious. Time then to empower ourselves with the information required to protect our young; to make our roads safer.
So what next:-
1. See the below video . . . it is an eye opener
2. Visit the following link for further details on which type of safety restraint is appropriate for your child/vehicle: http://www.childcarseats.org.uk. Details care of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, UK (RoSPA).
3. Act . . .
Please forward this information to other friends with young children.
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of infants, toddlers and pre-school-aged children who are being transported in cars and school buses, without any form of appropriate restraint or regard for safety.
In fact the exact number of children under the age of five riding on our roads is unknown. Nor are there any statistics regarding fatal accidents and injuries in this age group, despite India having one of the world's highest number of road fatalities.
Compared to the recent past, at least today most modern cars come fitted with both front and rear inertia reel seat belts, however these are formulated based on the passenger being a minimum of 5ft tall or 35 kgs in weight. For any individual smaller than this, these 'safety fittings', are not only ineffective but can actually cause serious injury in their own right.
As far as school and public transport go, neither options in India come fitted with seat belts, or even appropriate anchor systems to enable installation of child safety seats. As a consequence our young children are being put at high risk of accidental injury . . . a reality no matter how tightly or carefully we think we are holding our child.
In countries like the UK and US, safety developments are made using crash test dummies. The lives of our little ones are no less precious. Time then to empower ourselves with the information required to protect our young; to make our roads safer.
So what next:-
1. See the below video . . . it is an eye opener
2. Visit the following link for further details on which type of safety restraint is appropriate for your child/vehicle: http://www.childcarseats.org.uk. Details care of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, UK (RoSPA).
3. Act . . .
Please forward this information to other friends with young children.
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