PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Consumers Association has urged the Government to introduce a law making it compulsory for child seats to be installed in cars carrying infants and young children.
It said statistics have shown that child seats reduce the risk of death by 71% for infants and 54% for children between the ages of one and five.
Maconas secretary-general Datuk Amarjit Singh Gill said in a statement yesterday that making child seats compulsory could help save the lives of children in accidents.
“Thousands of vehicles are driven daily and children ranging from infants to five-year-olds are at risk because they are seated at the back of the car without proper restraints.
“There are also parents who put the child in the front seat or on their laps when the car is driven. This is not only dangerous to the front passenger but also to the child,” he said.
Referring to the fatal accident at the DUKE Highway in which a couple and their seven-month-old baby were killed, Amarjit felt the baby could have been saved if she was securely strapped in a car child seat.
Although seat belt rules already exist, Amarjit said the authorities should enforce the rules strictly, especially during festive seasons and long public holidays.
“If we are going to be serious about road safety, then we have to be serious about making sure that precautions are put in place to ensure the safety of the passengers in vehicles,” he added.
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