IMPLEMENTATION OF LAWS CONCERNING THE COMPULSORY USE OF CHILD CAR SEATS ON PERSONAL MOTOR VEHICLES AND SAFETY STANDARDS FOR CHILD CAR SEATS AND ISOFIX SYSTEMS

Abstract

Road traffic injuries and fatalities are critical public health problems in Thailand. WHO estimates that road traffic fatalities in Thailand amount to 24,237 deaths each year, or according to the estimated rate by WHO, 36.2 deaths per 100,000 population. Every year, approximately 100 – 140 children, under the age of fourteen years, perish in motor vehicles as a result of traffic accidents. Unfortunately, there is currently no specific safety measures prescribed under Thai Traffic Laws whose purpose is preventing the injury and death of children in a personal motor vehicle.

            In Thailand, Traffic Law does not require a child to be restrained with a child car seat but it requires all passengers in a motor vehicle to wear safety belts. This Traffic Law requiring a child in a motor vehicle to wear a safety belt is impractical and unenforceable. This means the use of a child car seat is a voluntary safety measure which depends on the parents’ discretion. Furthermore, there is no national product standard for child car seats. Therefore, most of the low-price child car seats distributed in Thailand are manufactured and imported without passing any standard certification. In some cases, a standard child car seat cannot be used and installed in certain models of motor vehicle. Thus, it is necessary to amend the related Motor Vehicle Law to mandate that all newly manufactured motor vehicles must be equipped with a new automotive part in order to support the use of a standard child car seat both for manufacture in country and for importation.

            This article mainly focuses on the Car Seat Law and car seat safety standards in developed countries where the fatality rates in traffic accidents are low, particularly the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

            According to research, the proposed appropriate solution to overcome child injury and fatality in a motor vehicle is compulsory measures through legal implementation and enforcement. The Road Traffic Act should be amended and the compulsory use of child car seats in a motor vehicle should be mandated by law. At the same time, the industrial product standard for child car seats should be set at a compulsory standard which conforms with UN Regulation No.44 or the equivalent a national standard. Moreover, the ISOFIX anchorage and ISOFIX top tether should be a compulsory automotive part that is required by law to be installed on all passenger motor vehicles.