Equipped with child safety seats, the safety awareness of parents entering France still needs to be improved
How far is it from the full popularity of safety seats
□ Our reporter Zhao Chenxi
Seeing the unconscious child lying on the ground, the child's mother fainted directly...
Back in time for dozens of seconds, when a red car turned left at the intersection, it was hit by a straight van to the rear of the vehicle. The collision caused the left rear door of the red car to open under inertia, and a little girl got out of the car. I was severely dumped on the road... This was a car accident that occurred on March 1 in Yongjia County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Surveillance video recorded this distressing scene.
In this accident, if the child was sitting in a safety seat, the tragedy may be avoided.
Nowadays, it is against the law to drive with a child without a child safety seat.
The newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors, which came into effect on June 1, incorporates the relevant provisions of safety seats. Article 18 clearly stipulates that the parents or other guardians of minors should “adopt child safety seats, education Minors abide by traffic rules and other measures to prevent minors from being injured by traffic accidents.” This is the first time that child safety seats have been incorporated into national legislation.
"Incorporating child safety seats into national legislation reflects the country's emphasis on children’s travel safety. It not only improves parents’ safety awareness, but also provides a legal basis for law enforcement inspections." Liu Junhai, a professor at Renmin University of China Law School, noted that the law China has not formulated specific penalties for not using child safety seats, which may be "discounted" in actual implementation.
In an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily, he pointed out that consideration should be given to formulating clearer regulations and detailed rules to further regulate such behavior from the perspective of legal responsibilities.
Parents have insufficient awareness of the importance of safety seats
"Does driving by car allow children to ride in child safety seats?" On this question, a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily interviewed 6 Beijing citizens randomly. Three of them said they would allow their children to ride in safety seats; 2 citizens said, Because "children are not used to sitting", the car is not equipped with safety seats; another citizen said that safety seats are installed in the car, but sometimes the children will choose to be carried by their parents when they cry.
However, in the opinion of some parents, child safety seats are "dispensable", but they are "life-saving chairs" for children's traffic safety.
According to data from the "China Children's Road Traffic Safety Blue Book 2018", when a car accident occurs, the death rate of a child in a car without a child safety seat is 8 times that of a child safety seat.
A statistical data from the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine also shows that when the car body is hit by a sudden impact, the correct use of child safety seats can reduce the casualty rate of children in car accidents by more than 70%; the death rate of children between 1 and 4 years old can be reduced by more than 54% ; The mortality rate of children aged 4 to 7 has been reduced by more than 59%.
Regarding the protection principle of child safety seats, Zhou Wenhui, director of the Motor Vehicle Safety Research Office of the Road Traffic Safety Research Center of the Ministry of Public Security, said that at the moment of a collision in a car, the injured part of the child may be the more fragile parts of the head and neck. The use of a child safety seat can well disperse the impact to the waist, legs and other parts that can withstand a large impact.
The World Health Organization’s "2018 Global Status of Road Safety Report" shows that in European and American countries, the use rate of child safety seats has reached more than 90%, but the statistics of the "China Children’s Road Traffic Safety Blue Book 2019" show that my country The rear seat usage rate of child safety seats is only 27%, and many parents are still accustomed to holding their children in the back seat or directly using adult seat belts for their children.
"This is actually very dangerous." Automotive engineer Ma Lingchen said. Experiments have shown that when a car is driving at a speed of 48 kilometers per hour, a collision will cause a 7 kg child to generate a forward impact force of 275 kg, and the child will be like It flies out like bullets, and adults cannot control it.
The car seat belt is designed according to the adult's height and body shape and is not suitable for children. Once an accident occurs, the seat belt will strangle the child's chest and neck, and even cause the child to suffocate instantly.
Therefore, only child safety seats are the safest choice.
Incorporate safety seats into local regulations in many places
According to statistics, more than 90 countries and regions in the world have issued laws and regulations that compulsorily use child safety seats.
Today, China has also joined it.
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" noted that before the child safety seats were written into the Law on the Protection of Minors, some places had already made relevant regulations on child safety seats.
Article 7 of the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of Minors that came into effect on March 1, 2014 stipulates that minors under the age of 4 should be equipped with and correctly use child safety seats when travelling in family passenger cars; 2017 The Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Road Traffic Management, which came into effect on March 25, once again reiterated the provision that when driving a family passenger car with minors under 4 years old, child safety seats should be equipped and used correctly.
The two regulations of Shanghai are typical. The reporter found out that the current regulations on child safety seats in various places are found in the regulations on the protection of minors or road traffic management regulations.
The revised "Shandong Highway Traffic Safety Regulations" that came into effect on August 1, 2014 added that minors under the age of 4 who ride in family passenger cars should be equipped with and correctly use child safety seats. Regulations.
The Regulations on Penalties for Illegal Acts on Road Traffic Safety in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, which came into effect on January 1, 2015, stipulates that children under 4 years of age riding in small and micro non-operating passenger cars should use child safety seats that meet national standards.
The "Hangzhou Road Traffic Safety Management Regulations" revised at the end of 2015 also added the requirement that "children under 4 years old or under 1 meter in height should be equipped with and use child safety seats correctly when riding in small cars."
The Regulations on the Protection of Minors in Hainan Province that came into effect on January 1, 2016, the Regulations on the Protection of Minors in Nanjing that came into force on May 1, 2016, and the Regulations on the Protection of Minors in Wuhan that came into effect on February 1, 2018. The Regulations on the Protection of Minors all stipulate that those who carry minors under 4 years old in a family passenger car shall be equipped with and use child safety seats correctly.
It is worth mentioning that Fujian Province has recently introduced special legislation on child safety seats.
On May 27, the 27th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th Fujian Provincial People's Congress voted and passed the "Provisions on the Use of Safety Seats for Children in Motor Vehicles in Fujian Province", which will come into effect on January 1, 2022.
In addition to specifying that parents and other guardians or other adult relatives and friends with children under the age of 4 driving or riding in small or mini passenger cars, they should use child safety seats in the rear of the vehicle. It also requires that the traffic management department of the public security organs The use of child safety seats is included in the content of the motor vehicle driver’s license examination, and publicity and inspections should be strengthened.
Lack of penalties standards and reduced enforcement effects
Although many places have issued regulations for the use of child safety seats, only Shenzhen has clarified the penalty standard of not using child safety seats and will be fined 300 yuan. The rest of the laws and regulations do not specify specific punishment measures. Newly revised The Law on the Protection of Minors also does not provide clear penalties for non-use of child safety seats.
In Liu Junhai's view, many legislations have not made clear penalties. It may be that the use of child safety seats should be based on publicity and education. Punishment is not the ultimate goal.
Incorporating child safety seats into the legislation is to further enhance the safety awareness of parents and ensure the popularization and use of child safety seats.
However, Liu Junhai pointed out that the absence of corresponding penalties will greatly reduce the effectiveness of law enforcement. Even if the traffic police find that parents have not used child safety seats for their children during the inspection, they can only promote and educate parents, which may not be mandatory.
Liu Junhai suggested that guardians, other family members, and drivers should further specify the legal responsibilities for failing to use child safety seats when they carry children.
"If the child is in a safety seat, it feels like the police are not easy to check, so you can't stop and check one by one." In the interview, a parent's words seemed to express the "lucky psychology" of some parents.
In this regard, traffic policeman Kong Yang of Fengtai District, Beijing, bluntly stated that the inspection of child safety seats is indeed difficult to be as vigorous as the inspection of drunk driving. On the one hand, not all vehicles have children riding; on the other hand, children are not allowed to ride. The consequences of safety seats are not as serious as the consequences of drunk driving. Even if they are discovered, they are at best criticized and educated, so it is not realistic to set up a card to check.
At least in his impression, there has not been a special inspection for child safety seats.
"The use of child safety seats for children is the same as drinking and not driving. It is not to respond to and avoid traffic police inspections, but to be responsible for the safety of themselves and their children." Kong Yang hopes that all parents who take their children on the road are responsible for the safety of themselves and their children. Everyone can keep this in mind, consciously use child safety seats, and don't take a chance.
Liu Junhai believes that by taking advantage of the implementation of the newly revised Minor Protection Law, the traffic police department can check the children's vehicles in front of some kindergartens to see if they are equipped with safety seats, and change people's perceptions through both publicity and inspection. And habits.