Toronto child vehicle safety standards may be made right and commercially related double standards abolished in new by-law. The safety of children are protected in private cars, but not in taxi cabs. Hopefully, Councillor Nunziata’s appeal will be passed for the safety of children.
An example of well thought out city plan for this is the Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council in the UK, click here to see their laws on the issue
Councillor Nunziata requests city staff developing a
by-law that requires taxis to have child restraint seats available in each vehicle
Letter to, Chair & Members of the Licensing and Standards Committee
Councillor Frances Nunziata
Chair, Etobicoke – York Community Council
Toronto City Council
Ward 11
York South-Weston
February 19, 2009
Attn: Chair & Members of the Licensing and Standards Committee
From: Councillor Frances Nunziata
Re: Making child restraint seats mandatory in taxis
______________________________________________________________________
It is estimated that 10,000 children under the age of 12 are injured in traffic accidents each year. In addition, motor vehicle collisions have been identified as the leading cause of death and injury among children. Crash tests have shown that no matter how tightly a crash test dummy baby is held on to, it is impossible to hang on to it in an accident.
In Ontario, anyone transporting children, such as parents, grandparents, and babysitters, are required to ensure that children are properly secured in child restraint seats; however, there are some exceptions, taxis being one of them. Some taxi companies do provide child restraint seats; however, one must make a special request for them, meaning they are not readily available in every taxi cab. Many people with children use taxis for transportation, which means there are a large number of children traveling unsecured in vehicles every day.
It has been stated that child restraint seats reduce the risk of death or injury to children by as much as 75 percent, making one wonder why the law requiring that children be secured in child restraint seats is not applied to the taxi industry as well. A child is no more or less likely to be involved in an accident whether traveling in a parent’s vehicle, or in a taxi, so the two should be treated equally.
At this time, I am requesting that the Licensing and Standards Committee request staff to report back to the committee on developing a City by-law that would require taxis to have child restraint seats readily available in each vehicle.
Yours Sincerely,
Frances Nunziata
Councillor, Ward 11, York South-Weston
Chair, Etobicoke Community Council
1 Comment
This seems like a waste of taxpayers time and money. Aren't there other, more realistic local concerns, especially consider the current economic climate, that a Councillor Nunziata can concern himself with?