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The plans are outlined in a consultation document seeking views on
proposed changes to regulations on the compulsory use of child
restraints and seat belts in cars and good vehicles.
Stephen
Ladyman, Road Safety Minister said:
"We
are determined to make our roads as safe as possible for all road
users and the correct use of seat belts and child seats is an
important part of this. Over 2000 deaths or injuries a year to
children could be prevented with these new changes.
Making sure that children keep using booster seats until they are [4 feet 5
inches (1.35m) tall] will bring real improvements to their safety. Seat
belts are designed for adults and making sure our children are boosted
to the right height will make them safer in the event of an
accident."
In
summary the consultation seeks views on requirements, set out in EC
Directive 2003/20/EC, that:
-
all
children under 3 years old must use an appropriate child restraint
when travelling in a car or goods vehicle (except in a taxi if a
child seat is not available);
-
children
aged 3 or more years old and up to 135 cms (approx 4 ft 5 inches) in
height must use an appropriate child restraint when travelling in
cars or goods vehicles fitted with seat belts (few exceptions are
permitted);
-
rear-facing
baby seats must not be used in seats with active frontal air-bag;
-
all
child restraints must conform to modern safety standards (to apply
from May 2008); and
-
where
seat belts are provided, the number of people carried in the rear of
vehicles may not exceed the number of seats available fitted with
seat belts or child restraints (to apply from May 2009).
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At
Drive and Stay Alive, Inc., we pay particular attention to
safety advice from the Swedish car maker, Volvo, for they
have been at the forefront of vehicle safety and passenger
safety since the 1920's.
They
state: Children
are safest if kept in rear-facing car seats until the age of three!
Renowned for being at the forefront of car safety, Volvo firmly believes
that most of us could improve the safety of the children who travel in
our cars.
Some of the facts and advice will be surprising to American
and British parents, yet research clearly demonstrates that children are safest if
kept in rear-facing car seats until the age of three, when their neck
has become strong enough to withstand the strain of the whiplash effect
of a front-end collision.
Most Swedish children continue to travel facing backwards much longer
than other European youngsters, and the difference in injury and death
rates is striking. For example, the risk of a child dying in a car
accident in France is twice as high as in Sweden, and German statistics
reveal a similar pattern.
Other
key information/recommendations in Children in Cars includes:
• Never put a baby or toddler in a rearward-facing seat, or anyone
under the height of 4ft 7ins, in the front passenger seat of a car that
is fitted with a passenger-side airbag, unless the airbag has been
disabled by an authorised dealership
• The importance of restraining a child in a car – not just for its
own safety. In the event of a
front-end collision, a child weighing 30kg (66 pounds), travelling in a car at
40km/h (25mph) will weigh up to the equivalent of a tonne by the time
they hit you in the front – or go through the windscreen
• Booster seats with backrests provide better protection for children
aged three or four or above than ones without backrests
Children In Cars is available free to download
from www.volvocars.co.uk
(Jan. 2004)
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