Cars, taxis, and buses: how can children travel safely?

The seat is compulsory in the car, but 6 out of 10 families do not use it. There is no obligation on taxis and coaches and safety still decreases 40% of fatal accidents occur on routes of less than 3 km, especially in the city. Not only adults die, but also the youngest ones. In 2017, 40 children aged 0 to 13 died in road accidents according to Asaps, the Friends of the Traffic Police Association. There were already 36 at the end of August in 2018. Some of these deaths could have been avoided, like many traumas and injuries, if the children had been in the seat. Instead, 6 out of 10 parents do not use them according to the Ulysses report of the ISS and among the reasons for the non-use, there are also the shortness of the journey, the low speed and the risk considered low.

The record says it is not so.

Aci writes that children risk more than adults, in the event of an accident, being thrown forward or out of the passenger compartment due to their small size. This applies to both long journeys on the highway and short journeys through the city. The poor muscle resistance and the delicacy of the organs expose them more to the risk of injury.

The seat is mandatory in the car up to 12 years or by the meter and 50 in height and saves lives because it allows the child to correctly fasten the seat belt. Article 172 of the Highway Code says so. "Children," writes the ACI again, "must always travel with the appropriate restraint systems, from their first car journey." However, it is mandatory only in your own private car, not on the couch or taxi.

THE SEAT BY CAR

From January 2017 there are new rules for child seats starting from the highway code: «children of less than 1.50 meters in height must be secured to the seat with a child restraint system, appropriate to their weight, of approved type ". Those who do not can have a fine from 80 to 323 euros, with a license suspension from 15 days to 2 months for repeat offenders, and lose 5 points from the license. In the event of an accident, if the child dies and was not in the car seat, it is a road murder as evidenced by the sentence on the case of the girl who died in Como in May 2017. book cab London

Backless boosters are only allowed for children taller than 125 cm and up to 12 years, age up to which it is mandatory to use at least the booster seat. After that, the belt is enough. This is the main novelty of the standard introduced last year. The goal is to put the child in the correct position to fasten the belt so that it is as effective as possible.

It is the height of the main criteria, not the weight as in the past for the older children. For the little ones, there are cradles or carrycots in which the infant is in a lying position. From 6 months we move on to the so-called egg in which the baby is still in an almost horizontal position so as not to strain the spine. It is worth up to 13 kilos maximum. The longest-used seats are the seats with backrest, armrests, and harness. They range from two to six years, after which the backless elevations arrive which, with the latest changes to the law, are to be used for children over 125 cm in height.

TAXI

If you respect all the rules, safety is maximum in the car. However, the same rules do not apply in taxis or on a coach. The highway code does not provide for the obligation, in taxis or blue cars, of the child safety seat. Private petitions and public proposals for amending the regulation have been made in many parts of Italy, but the law has not changed for now. The law allows taxi drivers to transport children under 1.50 meters in height in the rear seat without the need for a seat or other restraint system, provided they are accompanied by a person at least 16 years of age. Never in the front seat.

"You shouldn't even put your belt on without a backsplash," says Giordano Biserni of the Friends of the Traffic Police Association. «In this case, there is no safety and the risk remains the same when traveling in urban areas at limited speeds. The objection that came to the requests is that a taxi driver cannot have three different seats for the different ages of the children ». The same goes for blue cars, the rental with driver. Car-sharing has a different philosophy. They are cars and the rules of machines apply to them. Either you bring your own seat or book it with the app, some companies already have the active service.

COACH

Another issue is that of buses. In theory, there is an obligation for all passengers from 3 years of age to fasten their seat belts even on minivans with more than 8 seats and coaches. The obligation to use seat belts is triggered only if the vehicle is actually equipped with it: if it does not have them, there can be no fines. Up to the age of three, children cannot travel on these vehicles except with an egg or a seat. "The coaches used for example for school trips," says Bernie, "are usually of the latest generation and all equipped with belts, but the fact remains that in theory under 1.5 meters to fasten them correctly it would take the backsplash and not there is, unless one takes it home. " The bus is not however obliged to have seats and backsplashes.