India accounts for a high percentage of road accidents globally. Despite cars becoming safer to drive, road fatalities in the country have only increased.
A glance at newspaper headlines shows that the death toll as a result of road crashes is mounting — pegged even higher than the toll from natural disasters. But what is left out are data on child-casualties in road traffic injuries. Perhaps this may be a reason why we do not give even a second glance to such reports. Quality data on child fatalities in crashes are unavailable in India due to data-gathering problems. But here is a statistic that might make us pause: 40 children die every day in road crashes.
Road safety conversations usually mention variables such as “bad road conditions” and “rash drivers”. While a combination of better road safety policy and infrastructure is necessary, there is only one constant for parents to help reduce the risk of their children experiencing road crash injuries: using seatbelts. As the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified, seatbelt-use is a very effective way of preventing fatalities in crashes which could have been deadly for motorists and passengers.
Therefore, is there not a direct correlation between the unfortunate deaths of child passengers and the reluctance of parents in buckling them up?
Parents who wisely seat their children in vehicles in the rear seat must also be told that using seat belts for the rear seats is not only mandatory but also vital. Apart from increasing the risk of exposing them to road accident injury, parents who do not follow this basic safety protocol are also reinforcing a bad habit. Consequently, children will increasingly consider buckling up as optional, or grow up assuming that it is practised furtively while crossing police checkpoints.
Though children are more vulnerable to fatal injuries, their discomfort with seat belts may be more prioritised than safety concerns by parents, who may or may not opt to buckle themselves up. What must be underscored is that parents’ concerns about the seatbelt discomfort of their children do nothing to keep them safe. Today, the more people drive, the more evident negligent behaviour is per-capita, increasing car crash casualties.
The generic car seatbelt, which is designed for adults, is not fully effective in meeting the safety needs of children who are of varying size, weight and proportions. Adults who seat their children in their laps in a car or strap them in with themselves are not fully cognisant of the risks these present. Most believe that nothing will happen to them while driving short distances. However, it is only when something goes wrong that they regret their folly. Though most city residents are aware of car safety, child seat belts are overlooked due to a lack of monitoring compliance. Enforcing this could help build a consciousness for safety, thereby lowering the risk children are put to every time they are out in a car.
A child’s anatomy is what makes her more vulnerable to serious injury. For example, the rib cage is more likely to bend rather than break, transferring the collision’s impact directly to organs. In the first 24 months of age, the pliable skulls of children can be deformed even by low-energy forces. They can be hurled out of their seats like projectiles, with the kinetic energy of the car that has its brakes applied suddenly, posing a risk to other passengers too.. The only solution is a child-restraint system that is adapted to different phases of their physical development. Engineered for optimum in-car safety, a five-point harness seatbelt for the rear seat is something that every parent must invest in. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the use of such a seatbelt in a child safety seat reduces the risk of death for infants by 71% and for toddlers by 54%. To promote child safety in cars, we need parental awareness and engagement, police enforcement, proper legislation, availability of child restraints for placing children, rear seat belts for slightly older children and strong public awareness programmes. The onus of behavioural change lies with people. Undoubtedly, governments play a role too but while stakeholders are increasing the volume of pro-seatbelt advocacy, the decision-maker and the potential life-saviour is ultimately the parent.
D r. G. Gururaj is Senior Professor, Centre for Public Health, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS)
