BENGALURU: Motorists in the city are familiar with the ubiquitous ‘baby on board’ stickers that can be found pasted on cars carrying infants. While the sticker might serve to warn motorists of the presence of a baby, it does not do much in terms of ensuring that the child on-board is safe.
Child safety seats, which have been commercially available in other countries since the 1990’s, are yet to become popular in the city. Most car owners are either unaware of their availability or are unwilling to purchase them, as their vehicle does not have the right mount to have the seat fixed in the car. With the government yet to make it mandatory for car manufacturers to have this facility as a standard option, not many are interested in this option.
“We searched for child seats in stores, but they are not easily available. On online marketplaces, there are child seats but very little information about how these can be fitted on the normal car seats. A good quality child seat will cost at least `10,000 or more and after buying it, if it does not fit in the car, what would be the point?” questioned Yusuf Reza, a resident of Frazer Town who has two children under the age of four.
In 1997, an international standard ISOFIX, was introduced to make it easier for car manufacturers to have attachment points for child safety seats. However, not many car models in India offer it. “Currently, there are no rules making it mandatory for manufacturers to provide this facility or for motorists to have these seats while children are on board. It is a desirable change that the government must consider,” said Professor MN Sreehari, a traffic expert.
In addition, standards mandate different seats for children of different age groups. This would mean that parents would have to constantly upgrade the seats as their child grows up, an expense that many think is unnecessary.
But awareness is slowly picking up as some early adopters are choosing to install these seats after doing their some research. “It took us a while to figure out how these ISOFIX seats work, but then we wanted to ensure that our child is safe as we do go on a lot of road trips,” said Radhika Shah, a resident of HSR Layout.
Awareness on child safety in cars is low: Experts
Putting aside the usage of special seats for children, there are a lot of precautions that car owners can take to ensure that their infants or young children are not seriously injured while travelling. The first rule, experts say, is to ensure that the child never sits in the front seat. For infants, in a car with airbags, a collision while seated in the front seat could mean suffocation, as the airbag explodes at a speed and height that is designed to protect adults. “Children can also be distracting to the driver. They might inadvertently pull some levers or turn the steering wheel, which can cause an accident,” professor Sreehari said.