Only one family in four uses a special car seat or booster cushion to keep children under 12 years safe in traffic, shows a study conducted within the framework of the Moldo-Swiss Project REPEMOL – Regionalizing Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services in Moldova.

Specialists are cautioning parents that a special car seat is the only way to make sure children are safe, while holding the kids on the lap is highly dangerous, for which reason the practice has been forbidden in the recently amended Traffic Regulations.

“The study has revealed a moderate level of awareness among parents about the requirement to carry children under 12 years seated on booster cushions or in special car seats. In practice, however, the situation is a lot worse, given that only one in four families observes that requirement”, REPEMOL communication adviser Natalia Dinu told a press conference.

Many parents ignoring this requirement think such seats are useless and prefer that another adult on the rear seat holds the child on his or her lap. Other parents say such safety accessories are just too expensive.

“Tests have shown that in a head-on collision between two cars the dynamic speed of a child increases due to inertia by 20 times. No parent will be physically able to hold the child on the lap during an accident, even a less serious one. Tests have also shown that the use of child car seats reduces the kid's chance to die in an accident by 70% and to get an injury by 60%. Child car seats do save lives!”, stated Natalia Dinu.

Marin Maxian, the head of the National Patrolling Inspectorate, agrees that the special seats are crucial for the safety of children. “Often we put the economic value first, instead of thinking about the lives of our family members”, said Marin Maxian.

REPEMOL, together with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health, launched on December 17 a national campaign to raise awareness among parents and children of traffic safety and traffic risks.