儿童安全座椅将强制认证

China Compulsory Certificates are safety certificaets for many products sold on the Chinese market. They will be implemented for children safety seats starting Tuesday.

Ministry of Communications statistics show that around 20,000 children under the age of 14 die in traffic accidents in China each year.

Without proper protection, children become the most vulnerable victims in traffic accidents. The Ministry of Communications has found that nearly 20,000 children under 14 years old die each year from injuries in road crashes.

However, parents can reduce the risk to their children if they put them in appropriate car safety seats that are correctly installed in their vehicles.

A World Health Organization report shows that child restraints reduce the likelihood of a fatal crash by approximately 70% among infants and between 54% and 80% among young children.

"The major function of child restraints is to protect child passengers in case of traffic accidents. The working mechanism of the system is, first of all, to restrain the child during the main impact of a crash," said Ma Chunsheng, Associate Prof., Dept. of Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua Univ..

"The safety belt  of a baby seat and other cushioning material can also mitigate the effect of the impact and secondary collision. It can also obstruct objects from flying into the child."

Zinian is selecting a baby seat for her one and half year old daughter. She is one of many parents who want to create safer condition for their children when they ride in a car.

"I used to think it was OK to hold my baby on my legs when I sat in the co-driver's seat, but it's not. After watching several traffic accident videos online, I realized that crashes happen so fast and so violently that no one can protect the child this way. Children should always sit in the safety seat in the back of the car to reduce potential risks to the greatest extent," said Wang Zinian, mother of 1.5-year-old girl.

Consider your child's age and size when selecting a car seat and whether or not the seat is compatible with your vehicle's seats and seat belts. Remember, too, that crashes happen, but with proper precautions, serious injuries don't have to.