POLOKWANE – Review was made aware of a photo of a mother driving down Potgieter Avenue with her two-year-old daughter on her lap, balloons in the back of the vehicle,while another child sat in the front passenger seat without the seatbelt on.
David Dennison, manager of Limpopo operations of the South African Paramedic Services talks about the incident.
“Children are the most vulnerable members of our society and no parent or guardian would knowingly put their child’s life in danger. However, an astonishing number of parents allow their children to travel unrestrained in vehicles, placing the safety of their children in peril,” says Dennison.
Research into child car passenger fatalities in the period 1997 to 2009 reveals that 30% of the children in these cases were not secured by a safety belt or child restraint.
He says in a crash at just 50km/h, an unrestrained child could be thrown forward with a force of 30 to 60 times their body weight. (a baby weighing 5kg could potentially become a 150kg to 300kg flying object in an accident).
“They would be thrown about inside the vehicle, injuring themselves and quite possibly seriously injuring or even killing other people inside the vehicle. They are also likely to be ejected from the car through one of the windows and suffer serious injury or even death.”
Dennison says it is not safe to hold a child on your lap while driving.
In a crash, the child could be crushed between your body and the steering wheel or dashboard
“Even if you are using a safety belt, the child would be torn from your arms – you would not be able to hold onto them no matter how hard you tried. It is also dangerous to put a safety belt around yourself and a child or around two children. The safest way for children to travel in cars is in a child seat that is suitable for their weight and height,” he says.
A few facts provided by the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of South Africa :
• 84% of children in South Africa travel in cars without wearing their seatbelts
• Passenger deaths in children are the fourth leading cause of unnatural deaths in our country (Medical Research Council)
• Car safety seats (child restraints) reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants, and 54% for toddlers
What does the law say?
• Legislation stipulates that everyone in a motor vehicle should wear a seatbelt
• It is the driver’s responsibility and legal obligation to ensure children are buckled up in a car safety seat (child restraint) or seatbelt where available
• An adult is guilty of a criminal offence if he/she should allow a child younger than 14 years to travel unrestrained in a motor vehicle equipped with seat belts or car safety seats
