Implementation of laws concerning the compulsory use of child car seat on personal motor vehicles and safety standard of child car seat and ISOFIX systems

Road traffic injuries and fatality in Thailand are a critical public health problem. The road traffic fatalities occurred in Thailand as estimated by WHO was amounting to 24,237 deaths each year or according to the rate estimated by WHO of 36.2 deaths per 100,000 population. In every year, there are 100 -140 children who are under fourteen years of age perished on a motor vehicle from a traffic accident. Unfortunately, currently, there is no specific safety measure provided under Traffic Law with the purpose of preventing injury and death of children on a motor vehicle. Even though, the provision of the compulsory use of safety belt on motor vehicle was amended in traffic law recently requiring the driver and all passengers on motor vehicle to restrain his or her body with safety belt while travelling, however, the safety belts are invented and designed for mature persons whose bodies are appropriate to wear safety belt. Meanwhile, it may cause severe damage to the abdomen and internal organs of children whose bodies are restrained with safety belts. Currently, many countries have implemented the compulsory use of child car seat as a specific legal measure preventing the injury and death of children on a motor vehicle. Furthermore, these countries always specify the safety standards and product requirements of child car seat simultaneously in order to control product quality and increase effectiveness and efficiency for utmost children protection. In Thailand, the Traffic Law does not require a child to be restrained with child car seat but it requires all passengers to wear safety belts. In this case, the Traffic Law requiring a child on a motor vehicle to wear a safety belt is impractical and unenforceable. Additionally, the use of child car seat is a voluntary safety measure which depends on the parents’ discretion. Moreover, there is no national product standard for child car seats. Therefore, most of the low-price child car seat distributed in Thailand are manufactured and imported without standard certification. In some case, a standard child car seat cannot be used and installed on the particular model of motor vehicle. Thus it is necessary to amend the related Motor Vehicle Law by requiring newly manufactured motor vehicle to install a new connecting automotive part. This thesis mainly focuses on the Car Seat Law and car seat safety standard in developed countries where the fatality rates on traffic accident are low particularly EU Law, UK Law and US Law. According to the research, the proposed appropriate solution to overcome child injury and fatality on a motor vehicle is the compulsory measure through legal implementation and enforcement. Road Traffic Act should be amended and the compulsory use of child car seat on a motor vehicle should be implemented. At the same time, the industrial product standard for child car seat should be determined as a compulsory standard which adopting UN Regulation No.44 as equivalence to a national standard. Moreover, the ISOFIX anchorage and ISOFIX top tether should be a compulsory automotive part that is required by the law to be installed on motor vehicles.