BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- December 2 is National Traffic Safety Day. In recent years, child safety seats have become a must-have for families with children. According to a survey by the Global Child Safety Organization in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2021, the penetration and occupancy rate of child safety seats have increased. However, how to use car seats correctly and make child safety seats available in more cities is still an important issue in the field of traffic safety.
Infographic Photo by Zhang Lang
One of the biggest "killers" that endanger the lives of children and adolescents
According to the World Health Organization's State of the World Health Report on Road Safety 2018, traffic accidents are the eighth leading cause of human mortality, and traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for people aged 5 to 29.
According to the Data Of the People's Republic of China Road Traffic Accident Statistics Annual Report (2019) by the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, in 2019 alone, 2,593 children under the age of 15 died due to traffic accidents, and 19,619 children under the age of 15 were injured, which is equivalent to 7 children leaving the world because of traffic accidents every day, and more than 50 children and families suffering from physical and psychological trauma caused by traffic accidents, of which children aged 1-6 accounted for more than 30%.
Road traffic safety accidents are still one of the biggest "killers" that endanger the lives and health of children and adolescents, and china's children's road traffic safety problems are still severe.
Ma Sheqiang, assistant dean and associate professor of the School of Traffic Management of Chinese Min Public Security University, introduced at the "'Chair' Road with You Safe 'Child' Line" 12.2 Special Online Seminar" held by the Institute of Public Communication of Chinese Min University.
He stressed that among them, the situation of children aged 1-6 years old due to traffic accidents is more significant, the number is relatively high, how to increase the protection of minors in traffic accidents, improve the passive safety of children is very important, mandatory use of child safety seats, seat belts, helmets and other protective devices will play a good role in protecting minors.
Data map: Car seats equipped on the bus China News Service reporter Zhai Yujia photographed
Continuous improvement of rule of law safeguards Experts call for detailed measures to be implemented
The newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors came into effect on June 1, 2021, which clearly requires that "parents or other guardians of minors shall take measures such as equipping them with child safety seats and educating minors to abide by traffic rules to prevent minors from being harmed by traffic accidents."
The China Child Development Guidelines (2021-2030), released in September 2021, also address the use of child safety seats.
At the same time, many places have also begun to improve relevant legislation. For example, in May 2021, Fujian passed the "Regulations on the Use of Safety Seats by Children in Motor Vehicles in Fujian Province", which requires children to use safety seats when taking motor vehicles, strengthens the coordination and co-governance of relevant departments such as public security traffic management departments, kindergartens, and the media, and clarifies the penalties.
Yu Xukun, deputy director of the Beijing Juvenile Legal Aid and Research Center, said that although corresponding regulations have been formulated at the national level and in some places, many places still lack attention to children's travel safety, and it is urgent to formulate more detailed measures to promote their implementation. For example, "minors under the age of 10 or under the height of 135 centimeters riding in a family passenger car" are explicitly used as the objects of use of restraint devices such as child safety seats.
Fang Dan, road safety and injury prevention project officer of the World Health Organization in China, stressed that although legislation is the most effective method, we must also consider a series of issues such as parents' "willing to use, buy, affordable, choose right, can install, install more, and use correctly", and each link is a huge work that requires multi-departmental coordination and the participation of the whole society.
Data chart Tian Wen photo
Increased car seat penetration Correct use should be taken seriously
According to the Blue Book of Road Traffic Safety for Children in China 2015, the installation and use of child safety seats is less than 10%. However, in early 2021, when the Global Child Safety Organization conducted a survey on the use of car seats in car-owned families with children aged 0-6 in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, it found that the average car seat ownership rate in the three cities reached 79%.
Penetration and occupancy have increased, but "applause is not a seat" has become a new problem: in the family with car seats, only 53% of the respondents always use child safety seats, and 2% of the respondents have never let their children use them, and only half of the parents have the correct use methods such as installation position and forward and reverse use.
In the survey of families who are not equipped with child safety seats, it is found that "children have fewer opportunities to go out by car", "children do not want to use", and "child seats take up too much space in the car" are the three main reasons; when investigating the reasons for having a car seat but not using it, it is found that "children are unwilling to use", "driving in the city, short distance" are the two main reasons.
Cui Minyan, chief representative and executive director of the Global Child Safety Organization (China), said that through the survey data, it was found that parents have a general understanding of the protective effect of child safety seats, but cognition does not mean that it will be used, and the necessity of use and the recognition of correct use still need to be strengthened.
Liang Mei, president of the China Toys and Baby Products Association, said that when combing through the unqualified problems of car seats in 2019-2021, it was found that horizontal displacement exceeded the standard is the most likely quality problem for child safety seats.
She reminded consumers to pay attention to product safety, weight matching between seats and children and matching products with vehicles when purchasing products, looking for national standards and 3C certification marks, and installing positions and forward and reverse uses during use also need special attention. (End)
Source: China News Network