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Safety seats now required in cars

"Bigger families may be unwilling to install child seats because of cramped space in their cars."

Lin Yue-chin, CEO of the Jing-Chuan Children's Safety Cultural Foundation

During its three-month child safety promotion period, the National Police Agency (NPA) said most vehicles stopped for inspection met the new child safety seat regulations.

During the June 1 to Aug. 31 trial period, police performed spot checks to inform motorists with small children of the new regulations. During this period, no violation tickets were issued.

The regulation, enacted by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, was scheduled to take effect on June 1, but was postponed at the last minute until Sept. 1. The regulation stipulates that child car seats are mandatory for children under the age of 4 or weighing less than 18kg, with violations punishable with fines of at least NT$500. According to statistics provided by the NPA, during the three-months trial period, an average of 219,998 cars with small children were stopped for inspection. At 144,323 (65 percent) the majority of motorists checked had the required safety seats installed for their children; whereas 75,665 cars -- or 34 percent -- did not have child car seats installed.

During the promotion period, 20,000 pamphlets containing information about the new regulations and were given out to motorists.

"Most parents with small children are aware of this new regulation," said Lin Yue-chin (林月琴), the chief executive officer of the Jing-Chuan Children's Safety Cultural Foundation yesterday.

"Bigger families might be unwilling to install child seats because of cramped space in their cars," Lin said. The foundation conducted a survey in late August and found that 77 percent of parents polled were aware of the regulation, and 69 percent supported the rule.

Thirty-five percent of surveyed parents said they had difficulty following the new regulation due to the lack of space in their vehicles, children refusing to sit in the seats or that the seats were too small for their children.

"For the safety of their children, parents should put up with this transition period when their children are growing up," Lin said.

"No matter how cramped the space might be, parents should still make sure to leave safe seats for their children before setting off on the road."
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