"Forcing taxis to equip child safety seats is rigid and impossible"

(Dan Tri) - According to a National Assembly delegate, the law requiring cars to be equipped with child seats is too rigid and could force many families to transport children by motorbike, and then the risk of accidents for children is even higher.

The regulation requiring the use of appropriate safety devices for children when riding in cars is the content that National Assembly delegate Ha Sy Dong ( Quang Tri ) commented on when speaking at the discussion session on the afternoon of November 17, about the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 10 laws related to security and order.

He said the Road Traffic Safety Law requires appropriate safety equipment for children, a regulation that applies to all types of cars, including taxis.

National Assembly Delegate Ha Sy Dong (Photo: Hong Phong).

Specifically, Clause 3, Article 10 stipulates: "When transporting children under 10 years old and under 1.35m tall in a car, children must not sit in the same row of seats as the driver, except for vehicles with only one row of seats; the driver must use and instruct on the use of appropriate safety equipment for children."

According to delegate Ha Sy Dong, this regulation will take effect from January 1, 2026, which is just over a month away. If violated, drivers will be fined from VND800,000 to VND1 million.

Most developed countries have this regulation and it is determined to “bring social benefits”. However, delegate Dong analyzed that in other countries, the rate of car use is very high, there are almost no motorbikes while in Vietnam, the rate of motorbike use is very high.

“If the child seat regulations are too rigid, many families may be forced to transport their children by motorbike instead of by car or taxi, which would increase the risk of accidents for children,” said Mr. Dong, adding that this practice has happened in Indonesia and the Philippines.

In these countries, when child car seats were made mandatory, the rate of parents taking children to school by motorbike increased by 15-30%.

From that reality, Mr. Dong suggested considering the experience of many countries, which is to have exclusions for taxis and technology-based ride-hailing services.

Discussion session at the National Assembly on the afternoon of November 17 (Photo: Hong Phong).

To elaborate, he said that according to the previous regulation 123/2024 of the Ministry of Transport , child seats have 4-5 different sizes, depending on the weight of the child. If taxis are required to be equipped with child seats, each car must have at least 4 seats of different sizes. This is completely impossible, according to the delegate of Quang Tri province.

In fact, he said that taxis serve tourists and are often combined with other forms of transportation such as airplanes. If parents are required to bring a child seat, they will have to bring it on the plane and have to carry the seat throughout the trip. If the taxi company requires a child seat, it will not be able to meet the requirement when the family has 2 or more children.

Not to mention, some poor families who do not have private cars want to call a taxi to take their children for vaccinations, medical treatment when they are sick or to travel on rainy and cold roads. With the limited number of taxis equipped with seats, calling a car will be more difficult, and the fare may also be higher. "This cost will fall on the heads of poor families or young parents," according to Mr. Dong.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/buoc-taxi-phai-trang-bi-ghe-an-toan-cho-tre-la-cung-nhac-bat-kha-thi-20251117155957078.htm