BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO-CAR) urged motor vehicle owners to start putting child car safety seats to ensure the safety of the motorists and their passengers, especially the children.
LTO-CAR regional director Francis Ray Almora stated that motor vehicle owners should not wait for the implementation of the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 112229, otherwise known as the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, before complying with the installation of child car seats in their vehicles because this is intended for the overall safety of those riding the said vehicles.
The full implementation of RA 11229 was supposed to take effect on February 2 but was deferred due to the current economic situation in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11229 on Feb. 22, 2019 which 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.
The CRS, according to RA 11229, must be appropriate to a child’s age, height, and weight, and must be mounted on a rear seat of the vehicle.
The CRS must also comply with standards set by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as specified in DTI Department Administrative Order No. 20-03, and other international standards including those under the United Nations Regulations 44 and 149.
Anyone who uses expired or non-compliant child car seats will face a fine of P1,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for the third offense.
Manufacturers or sellers of non-compliant child car seats and those who fake compliance stickers will have to pay a fine of P50,000 to P100,000.
Director Amora claimed that the prevailing prices of child car seats is affordable and that motor vehicle owners can also order these on line thus there is no reason why they cannot already install the prescribed child car seats while awaiting the full implementation of the said law.
“We hope motor vehicle owners will start installing or making available the prescribed child car safety seats in their vehicles so that it will be easier for law enforcers to monitor their compliance to the law. We do not want to be simply imposing penalties against violators and motor vehicle owners should take advantage of the prevailing deferment of the implementation of the law to already install the required child car safety seats because it is primarily intended for the safety of the vehicle occupants,” Almora stressed.
He claimed that, as of now, motorists found not complying with the child car safety seat in their vehicles will simply be reminded by law enforcers to install the same for their very own safety because once the period that the implementation of the law shall have lapsed, they will be apprehended and required to pay the fine aside from facing unnecessary delays in dealing with the agency for the settlement of their violation.
The transition period is still underway and motor vehicle owners should take advantage of this time to install the child car safety seats for the overall safety of passengers.
