Little value placed on little Indonesians' lives<\/p>\n
By John Aglionby<\/p>\n
IT often seems little value is placed on young people's lives
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
A whole family on one motorbike, a dozen schoolchildren
\nhanging out of a bus door and toddlers bouncing around in the
\nfront seats of cars are all common sights.<\/p>\n
One would be forgiven for thinking that if a child makes it to
\nadulthood all well and good, if not never mind, there are still
\n200 million others where that one came from.<\/p>\n
Money is of course a major factor. A motorbike is all that
\nmany people can afford to buy and bus operators want to squeeze
\nas many people in as possible.<\/p>\n
But change may be in the air vis-vis child safety, driven by
\nforeign companies wanting to cash in on an untapped market and
\nIndonesians increasing exposure to Western society and the norms
\ntherein.<\/p>\n
What is being touted are child safety seats in cars. Little
\nresearch has been done in Indonesia -- a Jakarta administration
\nspokesman would only say that \"hundreds of children die every
\nyear in traffic accidents in the capital\" -- but for Malaysia the
\nstatistics make convincing reading.<\/p>\n
Without safety seats, statistics show that one child in nine
\nwill definitely be killed in an automobile accident and another
\n35 percent will suffer serious injuries, whereas with safety
\nseats at least 70 percent of children escape with nothing more
\nthan minor bruising.<\/p>\n
There is very little awareness about child safety, according
\nto many automakers. \"People ask us about air bags and side-impact
\nbars but almost no one asks about child safety,\" Sasha Malonda of
\nMercedes-Benz said.<\/p>\n
And the few retailers that do sell child safety seats are
\nstruggling to sell them. Ade Siregar, the manager of Little
\nKrissi in Pondok Indah Mal, South Jakarta, estimates that only
\nabout 2,000 are sold annually, and 60 percent of those are bought
\nby foreigners.<\/p>\n
\"It's probably because many people have drivers here and so
\nthe mother holds the baby or young child in her arms,\" she said.
\n\"But in an accident the baby would be thrown free of the mother
\nand so be unprotected.\"<\/p>\n
Child seats are classified as luxury products which means
\ntheir price almost doubles between the port and the shop floor.
\nAnd, as with many things, the devaluation of the rupiah has not
\nhelped either. Before July, a good-quality seat would be priced
\nat about Rp 500,000 (US$200); the same seats are now being sold
\nfor a little under Rp 700,000.<\/p>\n
Andrew Pattenden, the Asia-Pacific director of seat
\nmanufacturer Britax, says the government should reclassify child
\nseats as safety equipment, not luxury products. \"We would then be
\nable to sell them for a maximum of $120 (Rp 420,000), which would
\nmake them affordable to many more people.\"<\/p>\n
No change in classification is likely to come in the near
\nfuture, Ade believes. \"They are not yet a standard product here
\nbecause people are not aware of their benefits and so they will
\nnot buy them. Until a lot of parents start buying them there will
\nbe no reason to reduce the taxes and tariffs.\"<\/p>\n
To increase awareness she is offering a rental service, so
\npeople can try a seat for a month or two. \"It is working to a
\ncertain extent but there is still not enough awareness.\"<\/p>\n
Pattenden is confident this will come with time. \"We have
\nfound in other Asian countries that people being as educated as
\nthey are, particularly those who have been overseas, realize that
\nchild seats and seat belts work there so should buy them when
\nthey start having families over here.\"<\/p>\n
He says one should keep several things in mind when buying a
\nseat. \"Bumper bars or a T-shield will keep a child in the seat in
\nan accident but not stop its head from being thrown a long way
\nforward.<\/p>\n
\"The best arrangement is a six-point strap harness, which
\ntotally eliminates genital rupture and stomach intrusions. This
\nputs pressure on the skeletal, bone structure, rather than soft
\ntissue.\"<\/p>\n
The ideal place for a child seat, he says, is in the middle of
\nthe back seat, as the child is a long way from the dashboard and
\nmore likely to survive an impact.<\/p>\n
\"But this is not the most convenient place. Rear curbside is
\nor even the front is, so then the seat is more accessible and the
\nchild can be seen.\"<\/p>\n
Pattenden also believes it is in the government's interest to
\npromote child seats. \"They've got to remember that children are
\nthe nation's heritage and if they value their heritage they
\nshould be valuing their children.\"<\/p>",
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