Mind the Gap Communications

MANILA (1 February 2021) - The use of car seats for children 12 years old and below is now required by law in the Philippines and will be enforced starting February 2.   Republic Act 11229, or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, requires that children up to 12 years of age or up to 4’ 11” in height should each be buckled up in a car seat, also called a child restraint system (CRS) while inside a covered private motor vehicle. The car seat used must be suited to the child’s age, height, or weight.  The law further requires that children do not sit in the front seats of vehicles and are never left unaccompanied by an adult, even if strapped in a child car seat.  Private motor vehicles include covered vehicles such as cars, SUVs, AUVs, and vans including those for hire. The law does not cover tricycles, jeepneys, and other public utility vehicles.  Details of the enforcement were discussed in a press conference held online last Friday, January 29. Mr. Bob Vale...

Why did child car seat use have to become law? Road crashes kill about 1.35 M people around the world each year and is the leading cause of death among 5–29-year-olds, states a World Health Organization report. More than 90% of fatalities are from low- and middle-income countries. Road crashes were also found to be one of the 5 top causes of preventable injuries in children, says a joint WHO-UNICEF report.  With the signing into law in February 2019 of Republic Act 11229, or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, the PH now has laws on all 5 key behavioral risk factors for global road safety: speed, drunk driving, helmet use on motorcycles, seat belt use, and now the use of child restraints. RA 11229 will be enforced starting 2 February 2021.  What does RA 11229 require/prohibit? RA 11229 requires that children up to 12 years of age or up to 4’ 11” in height, while inside a covered private motor vehicle…  should each be buckled up in a car seat, also a called child restr...

MANILA (18 January 2021) - Republic Act 11229, or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, will be enforced nationwide starting February 2.  The law requires that child passengers in private covered motor vehicles—such as cars, vans, SUVs, and AUVs—are buckled up in car seats, also known as child restraint systems or CRS. By child passengers we mean any person below 12 years old or below 4 feet and 11 inches in height.  There are three types of car seats appropriate for the different growth stages of a child. Parents should make sure, thus, that a child is seated in a car seat right for his or her age, height, and weight. Learn more about the types of car seats RA 11229 also prohibits drivers from leaving children unattended in any motor vehicle, or letting children sit in the front seat. In the past, only children six years old and below were prohibited from sitting in the front seat. The new law extends this prohibition to children up to 12 years old. For more information, fo...

MANILA (2020 November 30) - Celebrity mom Jolina Magdangal is appealing to parents to use car seats when traveling with their children, to help stem the still-high number of road incidents in pandemic-ridden 2020.  “ Para sa isang magulang na katulad ko, ano pa ba ang mas mahalaga kundi ang safety ng mga anak natin at mahal sa buhay? (For a parent like me, what could be more important than the safety of our children and loved ones?),” said Jolina in a recent interview , during which she calls for more vigilance among parents when it comes to keeping children safe on the road.  

Typhoon Ulysses (international name Vamco), the deadliest of the typhoons of 2020 thus far, posted a death toll of 67, many due to heavy flooding from the Marikina and Cagayan rivers. Two other typhoons, Quinta (Molave) and Rolly (Goni), posted 27 and 25 casualties, respectively. That's a total of 119 deaths this typhoon season, which is not good at all. But did you know that there have been 118 fatal road incidents in the Philippines since mid-March? One would expect that number to be close to zero during the COVID-19 lockdowns when fewer people were on the road, but it isn't.   Atty. Tony Salvador, a road advocate from Ideals, Inc. , tells us more during this episode of news podcast Teka Teka, a program of PumaPodcast. Atty. Salvador also talks about RA 11229, or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, which now requires the use of child car restraints in the Philippines. Segment starts at the 6:34 mark: 

MANILA, Philippines (2020 November 16) - As if typhoons do not represent enough devastation already, they now come with the extra threat of COVID-19 with every misstep. But a look at the numbers tells us that another old menace—road crashes— claimed nearly many lives as the biggest storms of 2020 have, despite people staying inside more these past months.