PUTRAJAYA: The Road Transport Department (RTD) has issued 577 advocacy notices to private vehicle drivers who carry children without using the Child Restraint System (CRS) or child car seats, since the regulation was made mandatory starting Jan 1 this year.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said that although no summons will be issued until June, but the advocacy notices were issued to advise drivers to use the CRS when transporting children.
“It is only an advocacy notice, not summons. If there is any summons, please indicate. We did not expect it to be easy to get full cooperation or compliance in introducing a new law,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Loke, who had earlier witnessed the signing of the Grand Majestic Hotel Lease and Development Agreement between Railway Assets Corporation and Majujaya Hebat Sdn Bhd, said the ‘soft landing’ approach was taken to give parents and users more time to understand the need for child safety seats.
On Oct 23 last year, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail announced that the use of CRS in private cars will be made mandatory from Jan 1, 2020.
In compliance with the United Nations (UN) Regulation No 44 and Regulation No 129, children below the height of 135cm should use the CRS.
The move follows alarming road crash statistics when 1,559 deaths were recorded involving children under the age of 10 from 2007 to 2017. — Bernama