Usage of child lock, car seats should be taken seriously - Road safety experts

SHAH ALAM - The use of child locks and car seats should be enforced to avoid untoward incidents involving car passengers, especially children's safety.

Safe Community Association chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said that a greater understanding of road safety was required by everyone, particularly parents.

He said road users could prevent this if they were aware of the crucial elements of road safety they could take charge of.

"First, users need to use child seats for child passengers or seat belts for adults, as well as child locks.

"Government and non-governmental organisations also play an important role in ensuring the safety of users is maintained so that this issue will not happen again," he said when contacted by Sinar Daily.

Lee firmly said that relevant agencies need to seek out information about those involved in the video to take further action because this was a serious situation that must be resolved to educate others.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman Dr Wong Shaw Voon said parents need to educate their children from an early age about what they should do if they were faced with a dangerous situation on the road.

"Children are the leaders of the future; therefore, if they are given early exposure, children will get an early lesson and know that the road is a serious matter that can't be taken lightly.

"The use of car tools is also important, and parents need to use seat belts, child safety locks, and vehicle window controls properly," he said.

Wong also added that all parties played an important role, including the media, to give regular advice to individuals so that road safety could be improved.

"All of these children are still not mature enough; therefore, they obviously are unaware of anything, but it's the adults who must remind them of crucial information once on the road," he stated.

It was reported that a child fell out of a car when the vehicle the child was in made a U-turn in Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

A dashboard video went viral showing the boy being hit by an SUV after falling from the car, sparking anger among netizens over the parents' negligence.