CPSM Applauds Government's Decision To Make Child Seats Mandatory By 2020

With much of the finance news taking centre stage following the government's announcement of the 2019 budget, one of the overlooked statements made was that child seat usage is to be mandatory in Malaysia by 2020. Child Passenger Safety Malaysia (CPSM) applauds this decision as it falls in line with their goals of promoting child seat usage. 

Child seats, or child restraint systems as they are also known, are highly important for the safety of young ones who cannot properly be restrained with regular seatbelts. As an NGO, CPSM has been tirelessly working towards raising awareness in the public regarding child safety in vehicles. 

To echo the advocacy plan by the Transport Ministry and Road Safety Department next year, CPSM has already lined up several campaigns such as the ‘Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification’ course in April 2019, among others, with the aim to increase the number of trained advocates of child passenger safety in Malaysia.

CPSM has charted a few advocacy programmes and communication plans beginning this month and until the implementation of compulsory usage for child safety seat in cars with continuous persuasion techniques and simple message to parents that a child also deserves protection in a car.

CPSM will step up the effort by conducting safety seat checks on child safety seats purchased and used by parents in several states starting from the northern region in the first quarter of 2019, to teach and guide parents to install and use child safety seats the correct way.

There will also be community talks and classes and also articles about child passenger safety in several publications. We also hope to increase CPSM’s social media reach by more than 50% by March 2019 targeting urban parents. The eventual goal is zero deaths of children as a result of riding unrestrained in motor vehicles.