The Protection of Children in Vehicles

Following the fatal road traffic incident out west, which ultimately led to the death of four-year-old, Javin Alvarez, the Minister of Human Development, Families Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, is urging parents to take precautionary safety measures. This incident occurred just before eight o’clock on Monday night when a truck overturned in a ditch and Alvarez was crushed under the weight of the mangled vehicle. Minister Balderamos-Garcia says that it is important for parents to ensure that young children are properly seated inside moving vehicles. 

Hon. Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development, Families & Indigenous People’s Affairs: “The protection of children in vehicles it’s so very very important. I think we had a terrible incident of a little boy the vehicle turned over and he was crushed to death. It is so important for children especially young children to be secured in car seats. Now I know a car seat isn’t cheap but if we’re going to be taking children around then they must be properly secured in the back seat. I can tell you that just I think yesterday I was going home and just past Haulover Bridge I saw a little girl she could not have been more than six years old and she was sitting in the pan of a big pickup and the pickup didn’t look too strong or anything like that, by herself in the pan of a pickup and half of her body was outside of the vehicle. A little six year old child and I said that is absolutely so wrong. If we don’t get out that message of protection of our children in vehicles incidents like that, like the crushing of the child the other day may continue to happen.”