Child safety is no joke, you have to keep a constant eye on little ones to make sure they grow into strong adults. When travelling with children, you have to take extra care because accidents can happen in the blink of an eye. However, despite constant reminders about keeping children safe in the car, some still take the risk of holding their babies on their laps instead of using a car seat.
On the road, anything can happen – some drivers are under the influence, distracted, or facing health issues. One careless moment can lead to unimaginable tragedy, and sadly, it’s often the innocent children who suffer. By making the safer choice, you could protect the most precious life.
Protecting children on the road
According to Arrive Alive, car safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71% for infants and 54% for toddlers.
Meanwhile, the African Brainchild research group (ABC) in Paediatric Neurosurgery at the University of Cape Town found that the hospital sees around 2 000 children (aged 0-12) with head injuries annually.
On the other hand, statistics showed a 22.6% increase in the Western Cape’s road accident deaths during the festive season last year (2023).
Professor Ursula Rohlwink, senior research scientist at the University of Cape Town, says, “All children under 1.5 meters should be properly restrained in a car seat.”
She says the harness should be snug, and rear-facing seats should be used for infants up to 15 months, forward-facing seats for toddlers, and booster seats for older children.
“Car seats are essential to ensure the safety of a child as a passenger in a car and are legally required for all children under the age of three years in South Africa.”
Dr Ursula Rohlwink
Rohlwink adds, “They are also important in older children, but if one is not available, a seat belt should be used.”
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Every seat counts
Anthony Figaji, Professor of neurosurgery at the South African National Research Foundation, SARChI chair of clinical neurosciences, and director of African Brain Child (ABC), explains it pertains to the African saying “It takes a village to raise a child”. It also takes one to protect it.
“We have seen the human cost of motor vehicle accidents and TBI (traumatic brain injury in children we have not been able to save,” he says.
“We have also seen those we have been able to save, but whose lives have been permanently impacted by injury that is readily preventable with the click of a seatbelt.”
Furthermore, he explains that for children, surviving a TBI often isn’t the end of the story.
Emerging research shows that a single TBI may cause long-term inflammation that can damage neurons for years after the injury. This means that a child suffering a TBI today may face further degeneration of their brain 20 or even 30 years from now.
Figaji says Be Quick to Click is a project of the African Brain Child initiative to drive public awareness, both among road users and authorities, of the importance of seatbelt usage and the ready prevention of TBIs to drive the awareness of children’s protection against road accidents.
He notes that seatbelts are an essential safeguard against TBIs for older children, but toddlers and babies need the protection of a quality car safety seat.
It is illegal in South Africa for an infant (a child under three years) to travel without being strapped into a suitable car seat. Still, they can be expensive and something that many families simply can’t afford, notes Figaji.
He says in South Africa, most children impacted by TBIs are from lower-income households.
“At the same time, many families have car seats, quickly outgrown and now unused, sitting in the garage – ‘we’ll get around to selling it online at some point’ – that could be donated, refurbished, and fitted to safeguard the life of a child.”
Prof Anthony Figaji
He says by donating a baby’s car seat, you can save lives on the road.
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