Parents travelling with children under the age of three will be obliged, by law, to strap them into a car seat from 1 May. This new regulation to the National Road Traffic Act was announced in October last year by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters.
Transport spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso said the department had no other option but to introduce the new traffic law “as parents in general were ignoring government’s call to take responsibility for their children while travelling in their cars”.
According to Arive Alive, studies have revealed that child car seats that are correctly installed for use by children age zero to fours years can reduce the need for hospitalisation by 69% after a road crash. Rikhotso said government will be relying on traffic officers to enforce this new regulation, especially during roadblocks.
“Up to now there was no penalty for motorists whose under three-year-old children are not in a baby seat with a seat belt on. We believe that we are covering a very important area which has been exposed for quite some time,” he said. We visited a baby shop and a toy store to compare prices of car seats. The cheapest car seats were selling at R1100 while the most expensive was R3300. The seats were suitable for children from 0 to 11 years. On Gumtree used car seats were being sold between R300 and R1500.
Rikhotso said for those who cannot afford a baby seat, the new regulation could be tough. “The value of your children is better than that temporary pain that you will be going through in investing in a proper car seat for your child.” The department has also encouraged people to report motorists who do not comply with law.
-Aretha Linden/Metro Desk
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