Question: I am a new parent and I am not sure if I am doing this child car seat thing properly. Is there somewhere I can go to find out if I am doing it right? Thank you.
There are certain laws and regulations that are steeped in good intentions. They have the best interests of the public at large. However, sometimes, the best intentions are lost in the details or implementation.
In the mobility field, for example, there are a number of these well-meaning public service laws that got mired in public controversy and dismay. The first is the implementation of the required child seat.
Republic Act 11229, known as the Child Car Seat Law, mandates the use of child restraint systems (CRS) among children 12 years old and below, with a height of 4 feet 11 inches and below. It was signed into law by President Duterte on February 22, 2019 and was supposed to take full effect last February 2, 2021. Due to a public outcry as a result of the prevailing economic difficulties, the President deferred the implementation of the law.
SunStar
Editorial Cartoon by Enrico Santisas
+ IT MADE everyone sit up and talk.
When Land Transportation Office National Capital Region (LTO-NRC) Director Clarence Guinto said, “Siguro po laki-lakihan mo ‘yung sasakyan mo (maybe you should just get a bigger car),” as reply to host Amy Perez’s question on how families with taller and bigger kids can comply with the Child Car Seat Law, reactions were as hot as a cup of coffee on an otherwise lethargic Monday morning.
Perez, in her dzMM Teleradyo program, was discussing the mandatory compliance of The Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act or Republic Act 11229, particularly the use of car seats or restraints for children aged 12 years old and below, pointing out that buckling up taller kids with the use of car seats may do more harm than good. The law was supposed to be implemented on Feb. 2, 2021.