Recently, a video went viral showing a child being flung out of a moving car that was making a U-turn somewhere in Kota Bharu. For some unknown reason, the rear door of the car suddenly flung open, and the child fell on to the busy road. Horrified citizens watched the child get hit twice by two different cars, one after another. Miraculously, the child stood up and walked.
Social media opinions were for the most part unanimous – the child should have been properly secured in his/her seat!
The law regarding seat belts in a vehicle was amended in January 2020. It is now mandatory for a child to be seated in an appropriate Child Restraint System (CRS), and not the regular seats which are catered to adults[1].
In the Motor Vehicles (Safety Seat-Belts) (Amendment) Rules 2019 (“Rules”), a “child” is defined as a person under the age of 12 years old, weighing 36kg or less, and 135cm or less in height. So, if the criterion is met, even a 12-year-old child needs to be strapped in a suitable child seat and not just babies.
It begs the question, what is a suitable seat for a child?
Essentially, there are different categories of seats for different age groups depending on the child’s weight and height. The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) has made our lives easier and listed out the specifications and guidelines which can be found on https://www.miros.gov.my/xs/page.php?s=crs-guidelines
If a vehicle is found to have not complied with the above, Rule 4B(4) states that for the first offence, the driver can be fined up to RM2,000 or face imprisonment not more than 6 months.
However, there are situations where the child seat law is not applicable – for instance, if by reason of a certified medical condition, the child cannot be placed in a CRS; or if by design of a vehicle, it is impossible to install a CRS; or when a bus or e-hailing cars and alike do not have a CRS installed for public use.
Children are curious beings. They’ll poke fruits, push buttons and will pull the handle of a car door open without fully comprehending the consequences. The onus then is on parents to ensure that their children are properly restrained in a CRS. In fact, it should be common sense. Where common sense fails, the law steps in.
In summary, the following steps are advocated:
- Install the appropriate child seat;
- Strap the child into the seat securely;
- Turn on the child safety lock;
- Lock the door; and
- Optionally, an adult could be seated next to the child.
Keeping a child safe is priceless. Don’t put a number to it. Purchase a reasonably priced child seat with the approved specifications. It will be worth your while. Not every child would be as fortunate to one in the viral video to get up and walk away with just scratches.
[1] Please see Rule 4B of the Motor Vehicles (Safety Seat-Belts) (Amendment) Rules 2019.
About the Author
Afiq Iskandar is a Legal Associate of XK Law. He graduated from MARA University of Technology, Malaysia. Afiq has multiple interests in life beyond reading law viz. sports, film, music and poetry. He believes that art, in whatever form they may be, is a necessity of life.
