Senate Bill filed mandating child restraints in motor vehicles

Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada has recently filed Senate Bill No. 2871 which requires all child passengers of motor vehicles to be appropriately restrained in order to reduce incidence of injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes.

According to the bill, child passengers who are ages six years and below are required to be in child restraints like booster seats and other products with a lap and shoulder belt assembly, that meets applicable motor vehicle safety standards prescribed by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

Image by Audi

The mandate will apply to private and public vehicles and are given one year from the issuance of the IRR by the LTO to install the appropriate child restraints. Drivers of public vehicles are also required to inform and require the adult accompanying the child upon boarding a vehicle to restrain the child passenger.

Those who fail to restrain a child passenger will receive a minimum fine of Php100 but not to exceed Php1,000 for the first violation; Php200 to Php2,000 for the second violation; and Php500 to Php5,000 fine with suspension of driver’s license for 1 week for the third and succeeding violations.

“The safety of children is a primary consideration during road travel. Regardless of the type of vehicle and the distance of the trip, every child should always be kept and positioned safely inside the vehicles by using safety devices or installations.” said Senator Jinggoy Estrada in the bill’s explanatory note.

source: Senate.gov.ph
via: AutoIndustriya

10 Comments

mark says:

9 years ago

halow po.. bago kayo mag comment jan di nyo ba alam na matagal na itong pinatupad na law sa ibang bansa? at sinung nagsabing stupid ang law na ito?

Sa australia bawal kang magpatakbo nang sasakyan na may sakay nabata pag wala kang baby seat no 1 rule yan

Ang problema is kaya ba nang karamihang may ari nang sasakyan na bumili nang baby seat? na ang pinaka mura is nasa $300?

daming nag cocoment akala mo alam na nila laht..
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Kurats says:

9 years ago

Hoy Jejemon na idol si Jinggoy unggoy. Bakit mo kinukumpara ang Pilipinas sa Australia? Di mo ba alam na mas may kapasidad bumili ng baby car seat mga australians kesa mga pinoy? Saka ang australia wala silang masyadong problema sa bansa nila. Ang batas sinusunod kasi magaling mag implement ang law enforcement kaya no choice silang sundin. Eh dito?

Stupid kasi yung gumawa ng law bobo din. Nagnakaw na nga lang nagpahuli pa
Abe Olandres says:

9 years ago

If the question is the economic capacity of the person, then this law will only apply to those who can afford to buy a car. If you can’t afford a car, the law will not require you to buy a baby car seat. Fair enough, right?

Alex says:

9 years ago

Ag tanong pano to papatupad. Ang daming batas sa pinas na hagang sulat na lang
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c says:

9 years ago

Paanong nakapag file ng bill iyan sa kulungan? :D
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imagi says:

9 years ago

ngek. not all vehicles are equipped with a seatbelt that would allow installation/proper placement of a child seat. this is a stupid law that was not studied properly. so this law effectively prohibits children (6 years and below) from riding a motorcycle.
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Elcee says:

9 years ago

Good job.. another stupid law..
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Billy Ho says:

9 years ago

So how does this apply to the masses who do not have vehicles and rely on public transportation? They need to be carrying a child seat around with them when getting on LTR, Bus, Jeepney, Trike? Note many of the public vehicles are not compatible with child restraints… what then? Children are not aloud to occupy them?

I understand the need to protect our children but it is hard to do so when the public transportation (Jeeps/Trikes) is primarily not even able to deal with such safety issues. You need to completely revamp all public transportation if this is going down. Why is my 4 year old child less safe in a public taxi and require me to put him in a seat then he would be on a Jeep, trike, bus… which is by far the large majority of public transportation?
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harlan g says:

9 years ago

A solution in search of a problem?

1. Where is the data on child (<=6 yrs old) fatalities/injuries from VAs?

2. What is the target reduction rate (10%?, 50%?, 90%?) of this law?

Given no data, how are we supposed to know whether:

1. This is a private problem rather than a public issue?

2. What the target reductions are?

3. Whether this particular law, as opposed to some other unexplored measures, will even help achieve such targets? Assuming #1, course?

On the other hand, consider:

1. Who will profit: retailers of child restraint systems, corrupt LTO enforcers, senators who wish to lengthen their resumes, etc…

2. Who will lose: vehicle owners.

Absent data, FUD/superstition rules.
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andre says:

9 years ago

yesss….dagdag pagkakakitaan na naman, tsk
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