The first week of May has been horrific for children dying on the road in ASEAN countries, with multiple fatalities due to car crashes in Malaysia alone. The Malaysian Consumers Association is urging the government to make child car seats compulsory for babies and children in cars.
In our review of road fatality statistics for the ASEAN region, the most reputable source of data we could find was from the World Health Organization, titled Global status report on road safety 2013, the actual values are from 2010 so hopefully the WHO are issuing a new report soon. The statistics speak for themselves, deaths on Malaysian roads are more than 6 times for than that of the United Kingdom and 4 times more than Australia.
The Registered Childcare Association Malaysia in partnership with Volkswagon has spearheaded car seat advocacy in Malaysia by training childcare centre staff in car seat installation since February 2015. Parents will soon be able to attend any registered childcare centre in Malaysia for assistance with the correct installation of their child’s car seat. Statistics from Centers Disease Control and Prevention tell us that child car seats reduce the risk of death by 71% for infants and 54% for children between the ages of one and five.
If you still have doubts about needing a car seat for your child or you know of someone who thinks their child is safer out of a car seat please take a look at the crash test compilation clip provided below. The compilation has been translated into English, Bahasa Malaysian and Mandarin to visually demonstrate why car seat laws should be mandatory.
Please use discretion when viewing the crash test clip around children. Even though all of the testing shown is completed with crash test dummies it is very graphic and may be disturbing, especially to younger children.
Car Seat Crash Test Compilation in English
Car Seat Crash Test Compilation in Mandarin
Car Seat Crash Test Compilation in Bahasa Malaysian
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Thanks to Jennie Grierson for providing the crash test clip for The Safety Educator website. Thanks also to Flickr user Ernesto Huang (auggie) for the great photo.
Maree has over five years of experience in Occupational Health and Safety and in the development of safety standards, training workshops and improvement initiatives. She is passionate about health, safety and education. Maree, a mother of two children, has a Advanced Diploma in OHS and will be graduating soon with a B.Sc. (HSE) from Australia.
