Little value placed on little Indonesians' lives

By John Aglionby

IT often seems little value is placed on young people's lives in Indonesia.

A whole family on one motorbike, a dozen schoolchildren hanging out of a bus door and toddlers bouncing around in the front seats of cars are all common sights.

One would be forgiven for thinking that if a child makes it to adulthood all well and good, if not never mind, there are still 200 million others where that one came from.

Money is of course a major factor. A motorbike is all that many people can afford to buy and bus operators want to squeeze as many people in as possible.

But change may be in the air vis-vis child safety, driven by foreign companies wanting to cash in on an untapped market and Indonesians increasing exposure to Western society and the norms therein.

What is being touted are child safety seats in cars. Little research has been done in Indonesia -- a Jakarta administration spokesman would only say that "hundreds of children die every year in traffic accidents in the capital" -- but for Malaysia the statistics make convincing reading.

Without safety seats, statistics show that one child in nine will definitely be killed in an automobile accident and another 35 percent will suffer serious injuries, whereas with safety seats at least 70 percent of children escape with nothing more than minor bruising.

There is very little awareness about child safety, according to many automakers. "People ask us about air bags and side-impact bars but almost no one asks about child safety," Sasha Malonda of Mercedes-Benz said.

And the few retailers that do sell child safety seats are struggling to sell them. Ade Siregar, the manager of Little Krissi in Pondok Indah Mal, South Jakarta, estimates that only about 2,000 are sold annually, and 60 percent of those are bought by foreigners.

"It's probably because many people have drivers here and so the mother holds the baby or young child in her arms," she said. "But in an accident the baby would be thrown free of the mother and so be unprotected."

Child seats are classified as luxury products which means their price almost doubles between the port and the shop floor. And, as with many things, the devaluation of the rupiah has not helped either. Before July, a good-quality seat would be priced at about Rp 500,000 (US$200); the same seats are now being sold for a little under Rp 700,000.

Andrew Pattenden, the Asia-Pacific director of seat manufacturer Britax, says the government should reclassify child seats as safety equipment, not luxury products. "We would then be able to sell them for a maximum of $120 (Rp 420,000), which would make them affordable to many more people."

No change in classification is likely to come in the near future, Ade believes. "They are not yet a standard product here because people are not aware of their benefits and so they will not buy them. Until a lot of parents start buying them there will be no reason to reduce the taxes and tariffs."

To increase awareness she is offering a rental service, so people can try a seat for a month or two. "It is working to a certain extent but there is still not enough awareness."

Pattenden is confident this will come with time. "We have found in other Asian countries that people being as educated as they are, particularly those who have been overseas, realize that child seats and seat belts work there so should buy them when they start having families over here."

He says one should keep several things in mind when buying a seat. "Bumper bars or a T-shield will keep a child in the seat in an accident but not stop its head from being thrown a long way forward.

"The best arrangement is a six-point strap harness, which totally eliminates genital rupture and stomach intrusions. This puts pressure on the skeletal, bone structure, rather than soft tissue."

The ideal place for a child seat, he says, is in the middle of the back seat, as the child is a long way from the dashboard and more likely to survive an impact.

"But this is not the most convenient place. Rear curbside is or even the front is, so then the seat is more accessible and the child can be seen."

Pattenden also believes it is in the government's interest to promote child seats. "They've got to remember that children are the nation's heritage and if they value their heritage they should be valuing their children."