Recently, China updated their national standards on child safety restraints in vehicles, including laws regarding car seats. Both in China and globally, car crashes are a leading cause of death for those between five and 29 years of age. Safety restraints can reduce deaths amongst infants by up to 71%.
Despite this, laws regarding safety restraints are often inadequate. The global average for child restraint use is 67% but, in some countries, this is as low as 10%. The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, expands: “China is a case in point. Even though the critical role of car seats in child safety in vehicles is well-known, the use of car seats only became law in 2021 and their correct use will only come into effect next year.
“In July 2025, infants 15 months and below must be placed in rear or side facing car seats. This is intended to reduce chances of death or severity of injury. The correct use and installation of child safety restraints is included in this update as well. The intention is to not only regulate car seat use but also provide guidance on selecting the correct seat based on height.”
Many may wonder where South Africa stands compared to a fellow BRICS nation. “Before 2015, children, below 150cm or under 36kg, had to be securely restrained in a car seat. This, however, was only applicable to children three years and above. Up until 2015, infants below three did not even feature in regulation.
“Now car seat regulation includes children of all ages, however unlike China, South Africa still lacks regulation on the type of car seat one should use, for example backward versus forward facing car seat. The only requirement is that the car seat complies with SABS specifications.”
The difficulty in South Africa and many other developing nations, is that child safety in vehicles is expensive. “Struggling parents are unlikely to regularly upgrade their child seats. Additionally, a car seat will be at the bottom of the list of priorities for parents who are unable to feed their child at night. Thus, where does the solution lie?
“Non-profit initiatives are a significant step in the right direction as demonstrated by these projects in South Africa. Another way is through the same body the propelled change in China’s law. The WHO worked with China and various automotive bodies to develop the regulation. The intention is to continue this work with other countries which should include consideration of the unique challenges of a country.”
The safety of children in vehicles is not something any parent, individual or organisation should overlook. “There are many inherent challenges in ensuring this, particularly in developing nations. Irrespective of these challenges, however, this does not nullify the need to develop car seat use. it simply emphasises the importance of collaborating to achieve the shared goal of safe roads for all users,” says Herbert.
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