Abu Dhabi: The new regulations on mandatory child safety seats for children aged four years and younger have taxi commuters and drivers in the capital in a quandary, Gulf News has found.
Sales of car child seats rise across UAE
While parents and cabbies alike have welcomed the regulations, which mandate age-appropriate child safety seats for all children below the age of four years, many have said that there are still no solutions for parents with small children who must frequently take taxis.
According to the new traffic law which came into effect on July 1, failure to fix child seats for children under 4 years will attract a fine of Dh400 and there is also a fine of Dh400 and four black points on the driver if any passenger fails to fasten the seat belt. However, it is not clear whether the rule is implemented for passengers using taxis.
“I know very well that a car seat is safer for my two-year-old daughter. But we don’t have our own car, and it is impossible to carry a safety seat around everywhere,” said Jasmine A., a 26-year-old homemaker from India.
Complete guide to child safety car seats in the UAE
“Look at it this way: when I go shopping with my toddler son, do I carry him, his stroller, his bag or a child safety seat? And it’s very easy to say that parents must bring their own safety seats. But when you are out with an active toddler, it is very difficult to install and uninstall a child safety seat into every taxi you take, not to mention all the other bags you may be carrying while standing on the roadside,” S.M., another 30-year-old Asian mother, said.
The capital’s taxi regulatory authority, the Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport’s Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), does provide a number of taxis with child safety seats, as reported by Gulf News in May 2015. However, these are quite limited in number, and a call centre representative said on Monday that parents are advised to book a taxi at least an hour earlier if they need one with a child safety seat.
Parents have therefore called upon the ITC to furnish more taxis with child safety seats that can suit children of different age groups. Some parents even said that they are now forced to carry safety seats with them whenever they take a taxi.
“There is never a guarantee that a taxi with a child safety seat will be available when I need it, even when I plan my trip in advance. In addition, every time I have to book a taxi, let’s not forget that I have to pay an additional Dh4–Dh5.50. That being said, I would be the happiest to know that I could safely strap my son into every taxi,” said S.M., who works as a researcher.
“Some drivers are able to step out and help mothers with babies, but not all do so. In such a situation, it is already a difficult task to fold the stroller and put it in the boot while holding on to your bags and the toddler. This is why it is not a practical requirement to have parents haul around a car seat,” she said.
A statement from the ITC was not immediately available. But taxi drivers said they now ask passengers with small children to buckle up in the rear seat along with their children.
“The [taxi franchisee] company has not given us any new instructions on how to adhere to this regulation for child safety seats, nor do we have access to seats with the age-appropriate restraints. So I simply ask parents to put on a seat belt and hold their children tightly in their laps,” one driver said.
Another said he planned to approach the company management to gain more clarity about how the new child safety seat regulations applied to taxis.
Child seat rules around the world
Germany: Children up to 12 years of age who are less than 150 centimetres tall must ride in a car seat or booster. The law applies to taxis as well, and commuters should either carry their own or book a taxi with a child safety seat by calling ahead.
United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands: Children must be strapped into an age-appropriate car seat or booster either until they are 135 centimetres tall. If a taxi driver doesn’t provide the correct child car seat, children can travel without one, but only if they travel in a rear seat, and wear an adult seat belt if they’re three years or older.
Canada: While child car seats are mandatory, the exact regulations for commuters vary from province to province. In Ontario, for instance, taxi drivers are exempt from the child car seat and booster seat requirements when transporting passengers for hire, but passengers can usually call ahead to book a taxi with a car seat.
United States: Child safety seats are mandatory, but the requirements differ from state to state. Similarly, laws in many states exempt taxi cabs from the child safety seat laws. In others, there is no exception even for taxis. For example, in California, proper safety seats are required in taxis for any child until they are either six years old or weigh more than 27 kilograms.
France: All children under 10 years or less than 135 centimetres in height must use approved child car seats. But there is no requirement to use a child car seat in taxis.
Spain: It’s compulsory to transport children under less than 135 centimetres tall in a child safety seat installed in the rear. Additionally, children are not required to use car seats in the city areas, but they must be in car seats if the journey takes them out of the city.
