The police are advising private motorists transporting children that, unlike public passenger vehicles (PPVs), they are not exempted from having a child restraint system for children up to 12 years old.

They are reminding that while the Government has back-tracked on this stipulation for PPVs under the new, tougher Road Traffic Act, it is still a requirement in private vehicles, where appropriate.

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gary McKenzie told the Jamaica Observer on Saturday that private vehicles carrying children up to age 12, must either be outfitted with a booster seat or a well-fitted seat belt where appropriate.

“In a private vehicle, if the child is big enough, then the child should be in [a seat belt]; if the child cannot be properly held in a seat belt, then an [adequate child restraint system is necessary],” he said.

McKenzie said that regardless of the child’s age, if the child is big enough to fit comfortably in a seat belt then the motorist will not be penalised. He suggested that there were mechanisms that can be fitted to the seat belt to allow it to be placed comfortably across the chest of the child.

“They have some triangular cuffs that can temporarily modify the seat belt to fit across the child’s chest. If it is adjusted and it fits properly across the child, then the child won’t need a booster or a child restraint system,” he said.

According to the American Academy of Pediadric’s website, healthychildren.org, an adult seat belt fits a child correctly when the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly; and the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with his or her knees bent over the edge of the seat without slouching and can comfortably stay in this position throughout the trip.

The organisation advises that children should stay in a booster seat until adult seat belts fit correctly, typically when they reach about four feet, nine inches in height and are eight to 12 years of age.

It noted that most children will not fit in a seat belt alone until 10 to 12 years of age, and when children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for the best protection. It said all children younger than 13 years should ride in the back seat.

In the meantime, the PSTEB head said the enforcement of the new law which came into effect on February 1, “has been going fairly well”, while stressing that enforcement is measured in terms of compliance and deterrence, not necessarily the number of prosecutions that have been made.

“It is early days yet..persons are still learning about it. There is very good interest in what the new law is all about which is very important. What will happen is that it will lead to greater compliance and certainly improve road safety,” McKenzie said.

“I just want everyone to know that the objective of the new Road Traffic Act and Regulations is to reduce fatalities, crashes and to improve road user behaviour and that will benefit us. I want to encourage persons to embrace it and let us all see how best we can conform with it so that we can have safer roadways and [greater] public safety in general,” he added.