In support of child safety awareness, the Road Safety Department is proposing that car manufacturers make child car seats as part of their optional accessories when purchasing a new car.
According to RTD director-general Datuk Arifin Che Mat, the department will meet stakeholders in the automotive industry after Hari Raya break to discuss on the possibility of making the child restraining system (CRS) more affordable.
“Our aim is to talk to national car manufacturers – Proton and Perodua, foreign car companies as well as child car seat distributors,” he said.
Automakers could offer attractive prices for young parents to buy the car seats for babies and toddlers when ordering a new car.
“If the car companies agree to our proposal, we believe it can increase the demand for child car seats and reduce prices,” he explained.
At the moment, there are several automakers like BMW Malaysia for instance, offering child seats as an optional extra with promotion prices ranging between RM1,400 – RM1,900. The government hopes that more automakers will join the bandwagon in offering child seats and encouraging more parents to buckle up their children while travelling.
PS: Amortise the cost of the child seat into the new car hire-purchase agreement, it’ll hardly make a dent in the monthly loan instalments – Ed.
Source: The Sun Daily
