Kajang, 16 October 2015 – Child occupant safety inside a vehicle is one of the most concerned topics discussed recently. There have been incidents whereby a child could have been saved if he/she was properly restrained. Even the vehicle itself plays a significant role in providing protection to the child occupant with child safety fitment system.

To approach the child safety concerns, the New Car Assessment Porgram for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP), a body that gives ratings to vehicles with child occupant protection, will be organizing an ASEAN NCAP Child Safety Day. The event will be held on 11 November 2015 at Autoliv Hirotako Safety Sdn. Bhd. in Balakong. The objectives of the event are to promote the use of child restraint system (CRS) and to introduce the standards related to CRS to the general public. The highlight of the event will be a demonstration to evaluate the performance of child seat.

ASEAN NCAP Chairman, Prof. Dr. Wong Shaw Voon said, “ASEAN NCAP Child Safety Day is a positive step towards promoting the importance of using CRS. CRS is able to minimize the risk of a child being fatally injured when involved in an accident. We are also inviting a speaker from Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) to share their experiences in CRS and hope to educate the public on this.”

According to ASEAN NCAP Secretary-General, Mr. Khairil Anwar Abu Kassim, “We have been planning the event since middle of this year. The timing is opportune with the recent complaint we received from a consumer regarding the removal of top tether in one of our tested vehicles”. He added that top tether is an important component to improve child protection system inside a vehicle apart from ISOFIX. However, Khairil also emphasized that, “The significant value of top tether can only be seen when the child is restraint inside a child seat. If no child seat is used, with or without top tether, it will not make any difference of protecting the child inside the vehicle.”

ASEAN NCAP Child Safety Day event at Autoliv is spearheaded by Mr. Yahaya Ahmad, ASEAN NCAP child safety expert. Yahaya said the Child Safety Day aims to promote safe travelling with children. He added, “Other than simply using child seats, it is also important to correctly install child seats inside a vehicle by parents or care givers in order to obtain maximum protection. Hence, we are also arranging for an expert to perform a demo on how to use child seat correctly.”

Currently the ASEAN NCAP Child Safety is only opened to invited guests. Interested parties who would like to attend the event are encouraged to register themselves with ASEAN NCAP Communications Officer, Mrs. Salina Mustaffa at 03-89249200 (ext. 425) by 30 October 2015 as only limited seats are available.

Download here for full press release of the event.