
We need your help.
Do you have a baby, toddler or booster car seat that you no longer use? Rather than letting it gather dust in storage or throwing it away, please think about passing it on to someone who can't afford to buy one...
Road safety organisation Drive More Safely (
www.drivemoresafely.co.za) has launched a new children's campaign which calls for donations of old car seats which can be used to help more families transport their kids safely.
Efficacy of seatbelts and child seat restraints during collisions
Motor vehicle crashes involve three collisions and a thorough understanding of these allows occupants to lessen their risk of death or injury in the event of a crash by wearing seat belts.
i. Vehicle collision
ii. Human collision with interior
iii. Internal collision (organs against cavity walls)
Seatbelts perform a number of functions that can lessen injuries, prevent death, and keep drivers in control of the vehicle.
i. Firstly, seat belts keep you in the vehicle during a rollover. If ejected, your risk of death is five times greater.
ii. Secondly, they keep occupants from striking objects in the car and from striking other occupants.
iii. Thirdly, seat belts allow the occupants to ‘ride down’ the forces involved in crash and distribute the forces across the stronger parts of the upper body.
A seat belt/safety belt is a safety harness designed to secure the occupant of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result from a collision or a sudden stop. Seat belts are intended to reduce injuries in three key ways:
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Stopping the wearer from hitting hard interior elements of the vehicle, or other passengers.
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Preventing occupants from being thrown from the vehicle.
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Absorbing energy by being designed to stretch during any sudden deceleration, so that there is less speed differential between the passenger's body and their vehicle interior, and also to spread the loading of impact on the passenger’s body.
Seatbelts reduce fatalities and serious injuries by between 45 and 65%.
Child restraints reduce deaths amongst infants by 70% and amongst small children age 1-4 years by 54%.
South African Legislation pertaining to seatbelt use and child seat restraints: including restraint standards
The primary legislation governing the use of seatbelts by children is the National Road Traffic Act, 1996, Regulation 213.
Under this Act the driver of a motor vehicle operated on a public road shall ensure that a child seated on a seat of the motor vehicle –
(a) where it is available in the motor vehicle, uses an appropriate child restrain; or
(b) if no child restraint is available, wears the seatbelt if an unoccupied seat which is fitted with a seatbelt is available
If no seat, equipped with a seatbelt is available in a motor vehicle the driver of the motor vehicle operated on a public road shall ensure that a child shall, if such motor vehicle is equipped with a rear seat, be seated on such rear seat.
Definition of a child according to the Road Traffic Act Regulation 213 (1)
(a) an adult is a person over the age of 14 years or taller than one comma five meters; and
(b) a child is a person between the age of three years and 14 years, except where such person is taller than one comma five meters.
Regulation 231 of the National Road Traffic act, 1999, Part IV: Loads on vehicles – Manner in which children to be counted for purposes of regulations, states as follows:
For the purposes of establishing the number of persons that may in terms of these regulations, other than regulation 263, be carried on any vehicle, other than a motor cycle, motor tricycle, motor quadrucycle or pedal cycle-
any child under the age of three years shall not be counted;
a) two children of three years or over but under the age of six years shall be counted as one person; and
b) three children of six years or over but under the age of 13 years shall be counted as two person;
Identified problems with current context for seatbelt use and child seat restraints
Children under the age of three are not mentioned at all. Current South African legislation fails children, discriminates against them and should be amended.
The implication of not limiting the number of children less than three years that can be transported in one vehicle is a major shortcoming of the legislation. It effectively means that one can load 60 two year olds in a Minibus as long as one doesn’t exceed the Gross Vehicle Mass of the vehicle.
a) The implication of counting two children of three years or over but under the age of six years as one person is a shortcoming. Under this legislation one can potentially load 26 children of three years and over but under the age of six years in a 13- seater Minibus, i.e. 26 children will have to share 13 seat belts.
b) Similarly, the legislation allows three children of six years or over but under the age of 13 years to be counted as two persons. Thus it would be possible to load 19 children of six years and over but under the age of 13 years in a 13-seater Minibus, which leaves 6 children without seatbelts.
According to information released last year by the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, in conjunction with the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of SA, between 200 and 300 children are treated at the hospital each year for serious injuries sustained in road accidents. Of these, between 84% and 87% were not restrained in any way.
For children that are younger than three (3) years, there is no law that says that they must wear child restraints; older than three years old must have some kind of restraint if available.
According to law, children must only wear seatbelts from age 3 to 14, which is deficient and should be amended. Age appropriate child restraints are needed for all children from age 0-14 years.
Awareness campaigns must be embarked upon to make road user aware of the danger of not using seatbelts and child restraints.
Please assist as the Transport family in this very important issue. The child restraints will be handed over to families on 16 March 2012 in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
You can also contact Cielie Karow at 0833261992/ Karowc@dot.gov.za should you need more information or want to donate a child restraints.
Example of what happened in Cape Town.
CHILD safety in the vehicle
24th February 2012
St. Margaret’s Anglican Church hall
Cnr. Kommetjie road and 5th Avenue
Come and listen to experts how to keep your child safe in the vehicle.
Speakers include Prof. Sebastian van As
Families earning less than R7500.00 can apply to receive a child safety seat that evening.
Time: 18h30 for 19h00
Cost: donation to the Organisation
PLEASE RSVP BEFORE 23rd FEBRUARY 2012
ONLY 250 PLACES
For more info on Child Restraints and also view:
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