Gavin Edwards, a North West branch manager for ER24, said although there are people who use child car seats, some do not ensure they are strapped in correctly.
He urged parents not to bow down to children who throw tantrums due to being restrained. "Parents allow their children to stand in vehicles. Some do not restrain children if they are driving a short distance. Others think by driving slow nothing will happen. You do not need high speed to injure or kill someone. Also, it is impossible to restrain a child during an accident if you put your hand out. The child and person doing the restraining can sustain injuries," said Edwards.
Paramedics and law enforcement officers often attend to collisions and find children who suffered serious head injuries, broken bones and even horrific deaths.
Superintendent Edna Mamonyane, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson, urged motorists to remember that death cannot be reversed.
"Most accidents that involved children who were not restrained resulted in death or serious injuries. People cannot guarantee children will be fine if a motor vehicle accident were to occur. If an adult cannot take the pain imagine the pain to a small child," she said.
Supt Mamonyane said officers who advise motorists about the possible dangers of not using a car seat are often treated as insensitive.
"If a baby cries, let them. Do not take them out of the car seat. Parents must stop thinking that they love their children enough to allow them do as they please in a vehicle. Once your child is gone there is nothing you can do. Make youngsters understand they have to remain in a car seat while you are driving," she said.
Amendment to the act
As a result of deaths and injuries sustained by young children, the Department of Transport is amending the National Road Traffic Regulations of 2000 under the National Road Traffic Act of 1996.
From April this year infants under three years will have to be buckled up with the appropriate child restraint while in a vehicle.
Professor Sebastian van As, head of the trauma unit at Cape Town's Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, said, "For a long time children’s rights have been neglected by inadequate legislation.
"Every year we see between 200 to 300 children at the hospital for injuries sustained in vehicle collisions. Eighty percent of these children were not restrained in either a car seat or with a seat belt."
Van As, a trauma surgeon and president of Childsafe South Africa, said adults must keep in mind that children under the age of six cannot assess danger by themselves. They are dependent on mature people to protect them.
People who cannot purchase new car seats due to economic reasons can either purchase a second-hand one or obtain one from organisations that hand them out.
Wheel Well, an organisation that raises awareness and educates people about road safety pertaining to children, is one of these organisations. The organisation collects, restores and hands out used car seats to people in need in return for a donation.
Van As urged adults to take care of their children. "Over the past few weeks the number of children admitted to the hospital for injuries has nearly doubled. There will be parties, predominantly organised for adults. There is always an increase in alcohol intake at this time. If people neglect to take care of children, it makes them much more vulnerable," he said.
The appropriate restraint for your child?
ER24 offers the following advice:
• Infants should ride rear-facing at least until they are a year old. Once they exceed the weight or height limit set by the manufacturer of the infant safety seat, they should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible safety seat. It is best to keep toddlers rear-facing as long as possible.
• When they have outgrown this seat, they should use a forward-facing safety seat with a full harness. This should be used until they exceed the weight and/or height limit set by the manufacturer of the seat.
• Children who have outgrown a convertible safety seat should use a booster seat until they are at least 4ft.
• Children who are tall enough to wear an adult seat belt should still ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old. Adjust the seat belt so the lap belt crosses the child's upper thighs and the diagonal belt crosses the upper chest at a point between the neck and shoulder.
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