Parents Responsible For Keeping Children From Operating Vehicles: Experts | FAKULTI PERUBATAN DAN SAINS KESIHATAN
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Parents responsible for keeping children from operating vehicles: Experts

PETALING JAYA: Allowing children to take the wheel is akin to providing them with a weapon that could result in their deaths and those of other road users.

Hence, parents should be blamed for incidents where young children are found to be riding motorcycles or driving cars, say safety experts.

 

Universiti Putra Malaysia Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Sciences professor Dr Kulanthayan K.C. Mani said a child does not have the vision sense, speed awareness and judgement of distance to drive a vehicle.

Parents need to be aware of the dangers they put their children and others in when they turn a blind eye to their children taking control of vehicles.

He was commenting on a recent case in Langkawi in which a six-year-old boy sneaked out of his house with his three-year-old brother and drove his parents’ car. The boy travelled about 2.5km before he lost control of the vehicle and crashed it into a lamp post near Kampung Titi Chanwang.

Kulanthayan said a child would not have a proper view of the road and might not be able to reach the pedals, which is extremely dangerous.

“Children will not be able to understand the dangers of being unable to manoeuvre, accelerate or stop a vehicle when required. This exposes them to the possibility of being involved in a fatal crash.

“Parents should never expose their children to a vehicle’s operation, especially by allowing them to sit on the driver’s lap and placing their hands on the steering wheel.

“Every child is curious and wants to try new things. On observing their parents drive with ease, they too would want to drive, with no understanding of the danger they will put themselves in.

“There are irresponsible parents who want to keep their children entertained and think there is nothing wrong in allowing them to hold the steering wheel, without realising the child could be indirectly encouraged to do so.”

Kulanthayan said even when a car is parked, parents should never allow a child to sit in the driver’s seat or touch the steering wheel.

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Statistics released by police reveal that a total of 402,626 road crashes were recorded from January to September last year, resulting in 4,379 fatalities.

The figures show an increase from 255,532 road crashes for the same period in 2021, during which 3,324 deaths were recorded.

The numbers for the first nine months of last year represent a 58% increase (147,094) in road crashes compared with 2021, and the death toll increased by nearly 32% (1,055).

Alliance for a Safe Community founder and chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said parents must realise the dangers they put their children and other road users in by not securing their vehicles.

He said children do not understand the importance of traffic laws and regulations and will not follow them when using a vehicle, thus endangering other road users.

“Children will be more excited to get behind the wheel of a vehicle than being worried about safety. This is simply down to parental irresponsibility because they had allowed their child to sit on their lap and lay their hands on the steering wheel when they were driving.

“There are some ‘crazy parents’ who pander to the whims and fancies of their child when they are driving. They give in to the demands of the child to allow them to hold the steering wheel.”

Lee said parents must be held responsible if their child is allowed to take the wheel and a road crash happens, adding that this would deter others from allowing their child to have “control” of a vehicle.

 

Sumber: The Sun Daily

Tarikh Input: 16/05/2023 | Kemaskini: 16/05/2023 | ahmadmustafa

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