Government proposes car seat exemption for children under 10 years old on taxis and buses

VTV.vn - The Government proposed to amend the Law on Road Traffic Safety, excluding passenger transport vehicles from regulations on child safety equipment (safety seats/belts).

The Government has just proposed that the National Assembly consider amending regulations on child safety devices in cars in the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety in the direction of exempting passenger transport vehicles.

The current Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024, effective from January 1, 2026, stipulates that children under 10 years old and under 1.35 meters tall are not allowed to sit in the same row of seats as the driver (except in cars with only one row of seats). In particular, the driver must use or instruct on the use of appropriate safety equipment for children.

The draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety is expected to revise regulations on child safety equipment in cars in the direction of exempting them from being applied to passenger transport vehicles (illustrative photo).

Currently, the Government is submitting to the National Assembly a draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 10 laws related to security and order, including the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety.

According to the provisions of the Road Law, passenger transport business by automobile includes: fixed-route passenger transport business, public passenger transport business by bus, taxi passenger transport business, contract passenger transport business and new types of passenger transport business according to the Government's regulations.

According to the draft law review document recently released by the Ministry of Justice , this proposed amendment was made based on the opinions of National Assembly deputies during the discussion sessions at the 10th Session. The deputies said that the regulations on child safety equipment should only apply to family cars and passenger cars traveling on highways. For taxis and service vehicles in the city, the exemption should be considered to suit the practical operation of the transport business.

In the draft report on receiving, explaining and revising the draft law, the Government said it had accepted this opinion and planned to supplement and revise the regulations in the direction of exemption for vehicles used for transport business.

Specifically, the proposed revised content in the draft law will be: "When transporting children under 10 years old and under 1.35 meters tall in a car, children must not sit in the same row of seats as the driver, except for cars with only one row of seats; the driver must use and instruct on the use of appropriate safety equipment for children, except for cars used for passenger transport business."

Mr. Vu Thanh Niem, Deputy Director of the Motor Vehicle Testing Center, Vietnam Register, said: QCVN 123:2024/BGTVT standard is built based on the technical regulations of the United Nations such as UN R44 and UN R129, accordingly, child safety devices are used for children under 10 years old and classified by weight.

Group 0 and 0+ (infant group): used for children under 13 kg, usually in the form of a cradle or reclining seat, must be installed facing the opposite direction of the vehicle to protect the head and neck.

Group I (children): for children weighing 9-18 kg, with separate seat belts fixed at the shoulders, hips and between the legs, helping to prevent the child's body from sliding when braking suddenly.

Group II and III (larger children): for children from 15-36 kg, is a type of chair or booster that helps children sit higher so that the car seat belt goes correctly on the shoulders and thighs.

Source: https://vtv.vn/chinh-phu-de-xuat-mien-tru-ghe-an-toan-cho-tre-duoi-10-tuoi-tren-taxi-va-xe-bust-100251202153450576.htm