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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Car Talk / Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? (8678 Views)
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Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Freiburger(m): 8:12pm On Aug 30, 2012 |
I'm curious about this, i will like to know if these kind of laws are in place in Nigeria. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Nobody: 9:09pm On Aug 30, 2012 |
^^^ They should be in place, though like most laws in Nigeria, I doubt they're actively enforced. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Lexusgs430: 3:29pm On Aug 31, 2012 |
Read Nigerians highway code. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by infolpf: 6:59pm On Sep 09, 2012 |
Child car seats are not, to the best of my knowledge, required by law in Nigeria. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by keyremotes(m): 12:06am On Sep 18, 2012 |
Even if the Nigerian law has no provision for var seats and boosters wisdom should instruct us. 12 years is the age a child can seat in the front seat of any motor vehicle and seat without a car/booster seat. Please read the instruction pasted on the 2 visors in your vehicle. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by naptu2: 6:41am On Sep 18, 2012 |
They exist, but the limit is determined by age, not by height (I believe it is 5 years & below for child car seat & 12 years and below must sit @ the back). There are road safety laws that exist on the books, but were not being strictly enforced. A few years ago the FRSC decided to enforce compliance with these laws. They started with the seat belt laws (circa 2004), then the crash helmet laws (circa 2008) and then the child safety laws (2010). However, whilst the Police and LASTMA backed the FRSC in enforcing the seat belt and crash helmet laws, I've not heard anything from them regarding the child safety laws (which might explain why there's not as much awareness/compliance with the child safety laws as there is with the seat belt and crash helmet laws). In 2010, the FRSC launched a public enlightenment campaign on the issue. There were articles in newspapers, discussion programmes on radio and tv, etc. However, I searched for a link to the issue and only got one. It was posted on another Nigerian forum and since I suspect that the anti-spam bot (Pyguru) will ban me if I post the link, I'll post the article without posting the link. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by naptu2: 6:45am On Sep 18, 2012 |
[size=14pt]Bad news for delinquent motorists ... As FRSC vows to enforce child car seat laws[/size] By TESSY IGOMU Wednesday, June 16, 2010 Are you in the habit of driving around with children in your car without having them strapped at the back in safety car seats? Well, you may want to reconsider the habit. Due to the increasing number of infant deaths in car crashes, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Lagos State Command, says it will soon begin to clamp down on parents who indulge in such practices. The decision isn’t without justification. Several deaths and injuries involving helpless kids are being recorded across Nigeria and the FRSC says it is determined to halt the trend. Bimpe, her husband and their six-month-old baby were returning from a social function when their car had a head on collision with another vehicle somewhere in Ajah, Lagos. The baby who was sleeping on Bimpe’s lap was immediately ejected through the windscreen. He died on the spot. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Bimpe and her husband only suffered minor injuries because they were restrained by their seat belts, while the baby died because there was nothing to hold him back during the impact. Across the country, children are regularly maimed or killed in road accidents. The fatalities happen because parents or guardians fail to adhere to road safety precautions for transporting children. Many of these deaths and injuries could have been prevented if the children were restrained by baby seats that are suitable for their sizes and weight and are securely fitted. Seat belts on their own are less effective for children because they are primarily designed for adults. In a crash, a child may slide under an adult belt because the lap strap is too high over their abdomen. It could also cause serious internal injuries. Car accident, according to reports, is one of the leading causes of acquired disability like brain injury and paralysis in children. The National Centre for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), USA, said approximately 20 per cent of children who die in car accidents annually are killed because they were not strapped in car seats. This means that on any given day nearly 700 children are harmed due to road accidents. Also, out of 250,000 kids injured each year, approximately 2,000 die from their injuries, while children make up about 5 per cent of total fatalities in car accidents. Not only is an unrestrained child a potential distraction to a driver but also the failure to use a car seat dramatically increases the chance of a child suffering serious injury or death. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a properly installed and used child safety seat lowers a child’s risk of death by 71 per cent for infants and by 54 per cent for toddlers between the ages of 1 to 4. FRSC Sector Commander in Lagos State, Mr. Jonas Agwu, says it is not appropriate to have children under 12 years sit in the front seat of a moving car. Even car manufacturers, he noted, have repeatedly warned against such acts because airbags, located in the front of vehicles cab automatically kill a child on impact. “Infants are expected to be placed backing the adult seat in front. Parents are also expected to strap their children in approved child safety seats but compliance rate is almost zero,” he lamented. Nigerians, he said, have out of attitude, not ignorance, killed their children, adding that parents would use seat belts and ignore the safety of their own children. He noted that Nigerians tend to see seat belt and car seat as an alien culture but fail to realise that safety and even accident has no boundary. His words: “Some people would say car seats are expensive but I usually ask them, what is the value of their baby? Why spend two million to buy a car and then think buying a car seat for N20, 000 is expensive? Lagosians are not ignorant but rather have an attitude problem. How would a couple strap themselves and leave their baby at the back unstrapped. If I deserve to be alive, my baby also deserves to live too. The seat belt and children car seat is for safety. This is the mindset the FRSC is out to change. “The National Road Traffic Regulation of 2004, Section 53, 3 and 4 says that when a vehicle is in motion, everybody in the vehicle must be strapped. The section did not draw a line between an adult and a baby. Everybody should use the belt. I am not sure you will get nine out of ten people who would tell you the seat belt is meant to prevent an accident. I believe we would be able to break that attitude that prevents people from thinking safety and safety for their baby.” The FRSC boss further noted that though there is no exact statistics on the number of children involved in road accident but the fact that it can happen should put fear in the heart of parents. “Must we wait until it happens to us before we take steps towards preventing it”, he asked. Mr. Agwu explained that often times when an accident occurs involving adults and children, they might have been helped out of the wreckage before FRSC officials arrive. This, he said, necessitated the government to make a law compelling people involved in an accident to inform the appropriate authorities. “Most times, it is a little difficult to get the exact data. I believe that when Nigerians comply with the new law about reporting accidents, we would be able to have a reliable data on the number of infants involved in crashes. Getting the exact number by simply analysing road accident data might be a little tricky.” Apathy on the part of Nigerians, especially Lagosians towards child safety, is saddening, says Agwu. He added that the need to raise the awareness gave rise to the ‘Child Passenger Safety Campaign’ which involves Celebrity Special Marshals and NGOs in Lagos. “We flagged off the campaign on February 11, 2010, invoking the provision of the National Road Traffic Regulation of 2004, Section 53, 3 and 4. The strategy adopted so far has been effective and we are gradually seeing changes. We now have more vehicles on the road with car seats and children strapped in them. “Any child under 12 years should be put at the back seat, strapped in a car seat. Those above 12 should have booster cushion fitted for them to help position seat belt and improve view from the car. We have seen people commit blunders by strapping their baby in a car seat without the car seat itself being strapped by seat belt. The right thing to do is to first strap the car seat properly with the seat belt, and then use the seat belt in the car seat to strap the baby. In the event of a crash, the baby is restrained by the car seat belt and the baby’s car seat.” |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by naptu2: 6:57am On Sep 18, 2012 |
[size=14pt]Why we support road safety campaigns –Students[/size] MOJEED ALABI 03/05/2012 07:15:00 Half of the world’s estimated seven billion population is said to be non-adults, and sociologists have categorised them as effective change agents. Hence, the Wellspring College’s decision to launch a Junior Road Safety Club for its pupils to step up campaigns for full compliance of road traffic rules. MOJEED ALABI reports. In a novel way of demonstrating their basic understanding of road traffic regulations, the drama group of the Road Safety Club had presented dramatic plays before an audience that witnessed its official inauguration. The more captivating aspect was a one-on-one interview presentation where a teenage girl presenter asked her guest, series of traffic related questions. In what the immediate past Lagos State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Mr. Jonas Agwu described as didactic and inspiring, the student reeled out usual causes of auto accidents, including over-speeding, non-use of seat belts, drinking of alcohol before driving, overloading, keeping below 12-year-old kids in front of cars and making phone calls, while driving, among several others. They also interpreted about 10 road signs and signals, which explained situations like narrow bridge ahead, roundabout, children crossing, turning not permitted, and tutored the spectators on other areas like speed limit, air bag use, sitting arrangement for types of vehicles and other important information necessary for road users and particularly drivers. “I am sure if as adults we are given two days to memorise what this kid has just effortlessly discussed here we would find it very difficult to do. I am not just surprised but dazzled by the quality of the presentation and the message ingrained,” Agwu commented. Speaking further on the importance of co-opting teenagers in the campaign against traffic rules abuse, Agwu explained that innocent children usually fall victims of excesses of parents “and if these children can differentiate between rights and wrongs they can influence their parents.” He narrated a ugly scene he witnessed earlier same day where a young family man with two kids of about three to seven year-olds drove against traffic along Ketu road. “The younger kid was seated between his laps while the other was sitting on the passenger’s seat beside him. When we stopped him, he said the baby had been crying ceaselessly. I only told him what my mother used to tell me that ‘tears don’t kill babies.’ Would it not be worse if he should lose the two innocent kids to an avoidable accident?” he said rhetorically. Also speaking on the importance of securing a child was the Chief of Staff, 9th Mechanised Brigade, Ikeja Military Cantonment, Colonel Ginikanwa Nwosu, who emphasised the importance of educating children as a form of security measure. The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) was represented by Mrs. Seriki Omowumi, who discussed how the agency has contributed immensely to the ongoing traffic control transformation in the state. The school proprietor and the principal, Mr. Daniel Isimoya and Mrs. Oluwayemisi Oloriade, respectively, expressed their satisfaction at the success recorded during the programme. While appreciating the partnership enjoyed from the road traffic officials, including the Vehicle Inspection Office of the state’s Ministry of Transport and the Kick Against Indiscipline agency, they said the step was in line with the school’s vision of building total students, who would contribute to the rebuilding of the nation. To ensure that the club lives up to expectation, the management promised it would ensure regular meetings, discussions and workshops for the members while it would also constantly hold public campaigns. http://nationalmirroronline.net/education/38859.html |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Nobody: 12:02pm On Sep 18, 2012 |
Common sense would dictate parents use appropriate child restraints with their children. The front seat in a car with a passenger airbag is a no-no, unless the airbag can be deactivated. I see cars here in the UK with Nigerian families, and some parents actually allow their kids to stand on the rear seat, facing rearwards! |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by infolpf: 9:42pm On Sep 18, 2012 |
Absolutely, children in cars should be restrained at best with a car seat (depending on the age and size) or at worst, seat belts. To the OP's question though, is there a CHILD SEAT requirement in Nigeria at this time? I think the law specifies seat belt restraints and vehicle placement, not car seats. The FRSC campaign quoted above is quite simply an awareness campaign, not an enforcement of known law. That being said, it is clear that the FRSC have not really thought this through - requiring parents to place children under 12 yrs in a car seat or booster? Child restraints are rated by height and weight, not age! Look around, most kids over the age of 7/8 could not possibly fit into a booster seat. My 4 year old who is almost 4 feet tall and 60lbs has already outgrown his child seat! I imagine we can only use a booster for another 1 or 2 years max. It would be a joke to require us to place him in a booster till he is 12! |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Mustay(m): 8:45am On Sep 25, 2012 |
naptu2:Eewwww I was gonna post this topic till I 'StumbledUpon' this. Thanks for the 2 articles @naptu2 - I've been searching for the relevant laws concerning this. I mean, what are people thinking? It's customary for Nigerians to 'wash' a new vehicle and then pray, "may we not kill anyone with this vehicle, may we not have accidents" bla bla bla but we're distancing our prayers from our actions. It's really annoying when I see this on our roads today. Some even consider it 'fashionable' - seeing such kid in an expensive vehicle for example, except the owner is a robber or the sorts, one would expect their level of education to apply to basic safety rules. As usual, Nigerians are also of the habit of not reading manuals, we seem to be proving the theory of "put in a book if you wanna hide it from them" right. Methinks many are thriving in ignorance. https://www.nairaland.com/989551/dont-let-happen-child-pics |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Nobody: 8:58am On Sep 25, 2012 |
Mustay: As usual, Nigerians are also of the habit of not reading manuals, we seem to be proving the theory of "put in a book if you wanna hide it from them" right. The failure (refusal?) to read manuals is all too true, sadly. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Mustay(m): 8:58am On Sep 25, 2012 |
@naptu2 Which reporter carried the report "Bad news for delinquent motorists ... As FRSC vows to enforce child car seat"? I can only see it on NBF online. Can I please get which newspaper featured it and the link? http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/12641/2012/01/08/saving_nigerian_child_road_accidents.html |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Freiburger(m): 9:20am On Sep 25, 2012 |
info@lpf:What do you mean with not required? So kids does not deserve any form of security just because they can't take decisions on their own. The government should do something about this. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Mustay(m): 9:34am On Sep 25, 2012 |
Freiburger:As ridiculous as his statement may have read, it's quite true. A lawyer I asked was not aware of any law regarding them hence, the reason I asked @naptu2 for that article for FRSC quoted some laws there. Perhaps, a lawyer can disprove that.
http://www.punchng.com/opinion/letters/safety-of-the-nigerian-child-in-vehicles/ |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Nobody: 9:49am On Sep 25, 2012 |
Mustay: As ridiculous as his statement may have read, it's quite true. A lawyer I asked was not aware of any law regarding them hence, the reason I asked @naptu2 for that article for FRSC quoted some laws there. Perhaps, a lawyer can disprove that. I think what Freiburger means is (what I also feel) we as parents don't need to wait for a bill to be passed, before we protect our children. I've driven in countries whereby the laws governing the use of seatbelts are pretty lax, or even non-existent. My children will still be in suitable child restraint systems. It's not always about the law, it's common sense. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Mustay(m): 10:52am On Sep 25, 2012 |
Ok. Yeah true but common sense ain't common after all and some adults driving children are not always their parents. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Freiburger(m): 10:58am On Sep 25, 2012 |
Mustay: Ok.Alrigt, since they are not the partents they should be allowed to expose these little kids to such a huge danger. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Nobody: 11:12am On Sep 25, 2012 |
Mustay: Ok. Mustay, I would not allow infants or small children to travel in my car, with myself driving, if there is no way to restrain them. They don't have to be my children for me to protect them. I would go absolutely mad if my kids rode in a car driven by someone other than myself, and they were not suitably restrained. That's the sign of an irresponsible adult. Treat the children of others, the way you would like other's to treat yours. That children are not yours is no excuse to expose them to danger, or worse risk of death. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Mustay(m): 1:03pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Don't get me wrong. I completely agree with your views. All I'm saying is some are completely oblivious of the #SafetyResponsibility. Such people need a kick in the bottom called the law. You even have mothers carrying a baby less than one year on her back and her other child with the bike guy on an okada. The worrying trend for me is that on more than 3 occasions, I've seen (wo)men with expensive cars placing the kid on their lap while driving - I mean, one gives them the assumption of literacy/education, how much more for the average okada man or (school) bus driver or a youth |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by naptu2: 2:14pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Hi. I can't remember what paper originally published the story. I read the hard copy version back in 2010. I remembered the Bimpe story, googled it and found that on NBF. If I remember correctly, back in 2010 the FRSC had a huge public enlightenment campaign about child safety. They got celebrities like Stella Damsasus and Holy Mallam involved in the campaign. Every morning Rhythm FM would broadcast the ad that says that you would go to jail or pay a fine (can't remember which) if you allow a child below the age of 12yrs to sit on the front seat and if you have a child in the car who is not strapped in. It's strange that I can't get more info online, because there were many articles written and documentaries, ads and news items made as part of the campaign. I know quite a few people who started obeying the law for the first time because they were afraid of the penalty. I'm going to search for the law tonight, but basically, the law says that everybody in the car must be properly strapped in. Now. . . Here's the interpretation: this includes car seats. At the time the FRSC started enforcing the seat belt law, some danfo and molue drivers in Lagos would simply put a rope across their chest (to show that they are obeying the law). Of course the FRSC arrested them, because they were not properly strapped in. The FRSC used the same principle for car seats. If you have a toddler in the car and you put a seat belt across his chest, is he properly strapped in? |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Sprumbaba: 4:08pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
From 8years. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by SamMilla1(m): 4:15pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Judging by what i see some drivers do, and how difficult it is to get a driving permit here in Nigeria, I would say at 18 years. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by naptu2: 4:31pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Oops! The mod has modified the topic. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by naptu2: 4:44pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
The FRSC is trying to get all schools to have a uniform colour for their school buses (good idea, although I don't think this is backed by law). |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by DisGuy: 4:45pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Sam Milla: Judging by what i see some drivers do, and how difficult it is to get a driving permit here in Nigeria, too true!! lol saw some craze man, early this year speeding without a seat one, a 4/5years girld standing on the seat next to him, he was dancing vigorously to Terry G, when we caught up with him, i signalled for him to use a seat belt pointed at the little girl, he just gave this puzzled look: wetin dis aboki dey talk sef! then sped off again |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by pappilo(m): 4:52pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Story story. No be Naija ni. When I was a child, we used to roll 5 children deep in the back of my dads Datsun 200L. When the older siblings grew a likkle bigger, the last born had to make do on my mums laps no seat belt or nothing. |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Mustay(m): 4:59pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
Funny country - when something is for their safety, they wave it away as "Wo, man go still die one day". If they survive an incident that had to do with their negligence, they say "Ehn! Thank God o" then when the incident results in a casualty, it's either "eeyah, and he was so so and so" or they start raining curses. The fact that the seat belt itself is good for adults doesn't mean it's an absolute measure against accident but a 'safe net'. @naptu2 that's one thing about Nigeria - we usually don't sustain sensitisation programmes. Well, urrghhh! |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by Nobody: 5:05pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
pappilo: Story story. No be Naija ni. When I was a child, we used to roll 5 children deep in the back of my dads Datsun 200L. When the older siblings grew a likkle bigger, the last born had to make do on my mums laps no seat belt or nothing. And you think that's appropriate in 2012? A lot of us didn't use seatbelts, but that was more down to ignorance. Other country laws were also lax on the subject of seatbelts and child restraint systems. Indeed some older models had no rear seat belts. Now things have changed. Cars are also a lot faster than they were 30 years ago, and the G-forces placed upon occupants in the event of a crash are a lot higher. I just can't see why it's such a big deal to use a child restraint in an automobile. Child seats may well cost money, but we can't place a value on our children's lives. At least, I can't. 1 Like |
Re: Car Child Seat In Nigeria: When To Stop Using It? by ismhab(m): 5:18pm On Sep 25, 2012 |
When they are no longer children. |
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