The other day I was doing my daily commute to the office when I saw a lady in a small car; she had three children in the car and not one was seated. There was a little boy standing on the front passenger seat and two young girls jumping around on the back seat. The thing that upset me the most was that the mother didn’t realize the potential danger of what she was allowing. She was singing along to a song with her children and everyone seemed so happy.
So you might say that it’s a common sight, children standing on the seats and sitting on parents’ laps. What’s also a common sight is that when there’s a vehicle accident where children are present, most of those children die on the scene due to being thrown from the car. Don’t believe me? Well, according to Arrive Alive and the head of department of trauma at Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town, Professor Sebastian van As, says that if an accident happens and a child is thrown out of the car, there is a 75 percent chance that the child will die.
What happens to your precious child during an accident? Let’s use that mother and her three children as a base. For argument’s sake, let’s say that she was travelling at 60km/h and that she wasn’t looking ahead and didn’t notice that the car in front had come to a sudden stop. When she does notice, it’s too late but she does the natural thing and slams on the brakes. She has a steering wheel and a dashboard in front of her; this can potentially slow her movement down in the event of an accident. She is also able to brace herself for the imminent collision. As for her little boy standing on the front seat, well, he’s not so lucky. The impact, even at 60km/h, will cause the boy to go flying over the dashboard and through the windscreen, onto the bonnet and into an area where he could end up under the vehicle.
The two little girls on the back seat will also be thrown forward; they’ll probably be thrown together, into each other, bashing into the seats, or even being forced through the gap between the two seats. They run the risk of breaking arms and ribs.
If a vehicle is travelling at 60km/h then its occupants are travelling at 60km/h. If that vehicle comes to a sudden stop and the occupants are strapped in, they too will come to a sudden stop, however, they will experience some form of effect as the forward inertia is dissipated. If they are not strapped in - then although the car has stopped - the occupants (and in this case a little boy), is still travelling at 60km/h. There’s nothing to slow him down besides the dashboard and the windscreen. Oh, but what about the airbag? Well, most airbags are secondary safety items and do not work if the seatbelt is not engaged… I would know.
So, you say you’re a safe driver; you’ve never been involved in an accident and you are very vigilant on the road, which is a good thing, but what about that taxi or that guy running the red light? Don’t take that chance.
Now this little scenario is just at 60km/h. What about those of you who travel at higher speeds with your babies on your laps? Or those of you who allow your children to play on the back parcel shelf? It’s no joke and it is a serious issue. Thankfully, the Minister of Transport has introduced a new regulation to the National Road Traffic Act whereby officially as of the 1st May 2016, all children under three years old will have to be strapped into a car seat when travelling. Any child older than three years needs to be buckled up. It’s a simple task that can potentially save your child’s life.
