Child car seats now compulsory
The new regulation to the National Road Traffic Act, which seeks to protect children will come into effect on 1 May.
PARENTS who don’t strap their children under the age of three in a car seat will from next month be slapped with a heavy traffic fine.
Transport Minister Dipuo Peters is introducing a new regulation to the National Road Traffic Act which seeks to protect children and which will come into effect on 1 May.
‘Nearly 40 people die on the country’s roads every day. Three to four of them are children,’ said spokesperson for the Minister, Tiyani Rikhotso.
‘Government will be relying on traffic officers to enforce this new regulation, especially during roadblocks.’
Rikhotso says up to now there was no penalty for motorists whose under three-year-old children are not in a baby seat with the seat belt on.
‘We believe that we’re covering a very important area which has been exposed for quite some time,’ he added.
The department has also encouraged citizens to report motorists who ignore the new regulation.
Rikhotso said some motorists may find it difficult to afford a baby seat.
‘But the value of your children’s lives is better than that temporary pain you will be going through in investing in a proper car seat for your child.’
Over the next 30 days before the new traffic law comes into effect, the department will be launching awareness campaigns across the country.
The department says it has no other option but to introduce the new traffic law, as parents in general are ignoring government’s call to take responsibility for their children’s safety.
