Strap your child in or face punishment

PARENTS are being cautioned to strap their children into car seats or face demerits as not having your child safely strapped in will be seen as a road traffic infringement. This is according to National Transport Minister, Dipuo Peters, who was addressing delegates at the Third National Road Safety Summit held in Durban recently.

Peters said that her department has developed an awareness campaign on the use of child restraint features in cars.

“According to a study conducted by the University of South Africa Research Unit, more than 555 children aged between birth – four died in road accidents from 2007 – 2011 in the Gauteng province alone,” she said.

Minister Peters added that some of these child fatalities were as a direct result of children not being safely restrained in a car seat.

“The risk of death of infants could be reduced by 70 per cent and that for children aged one – four years by 47 – 54 per cent when they use car restraint seats,” she said.

uMgeni Park mother, Jesse Walker, said she makes it a duty to make sure her four-year-old daughter is carefully strapped into her car seat before every trip.

“It is of utmost importance that my daughter, Eva, is strapped in before we leave. It absolutely upsets me when I see children standing in the car or sitting on the front seat passenger’s lap,” she said.

“What parents don’t realise is that the child will do what the parent says so it is vital that parents instill in their children, they need to be safely strapped in,” Walker added.