Some of the Issues of Preventing Offenses Involving Child Passengers

Afonin Vadim Vyacheslavovich PhD in Law Associate Professor of the Department of Organization of the Traffic Police of the Oryol Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia named after V.V. Lukyanova 302027, Russia, Orel region, Orel, Ignatova str., 2 vadim.afonin@mail.ru

         Road traffic accidents are one of the main causes of mortality among the population. In addition, according to statistics, in the period from 2017 to 2022, 5433 cases of road accidents (hereinafter referred to as accidents) were recorded, where child passengers were injured due to the driver's non-compliance with the rules for transporting children, for example, without child restraints. Of these, 431 children died for this reason. Children who have suffered as a result of an accident receive not only severe physical injuries, but also psychological problems, which consist in increased anxiety, depression, prolonged experience of affect and can lead to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. In April 2021, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, addressing the Federal Assembly, stressed that saving the people of Russia is the highest national priority ^[1].  It should be noted that currently, on the territory of the Russian Federation, a number of federal programs are being implemented, the implementation of which involves the search for new methods to reduce children's road traffic injuries. So, in August, it was announced that the period 2021-2030 is the Second Decade of road safety action^[2] and the Global Plan of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 was developed.  All these facts suggest that the problem of prevention of children's road traffic injuries is relevant in our time and is subject to detailed consideration.

Returning to the statistical data, we see that 81 children have already died in the incomplete year 2022 due to the driver's violation of the rules of his transportation, that is, drivers allow themselves to neglect the requirement to transport children up to 12 years of age with the help of child restraints (systems). At the same time, according to some scientists, for example, A.R. Moiseeva, that health care plays a coordinating role in BDD. Medical support at all stages of providing assistance to victims is only a private task of healthcare in the prevention of children's road traffic injuries ^[3]. However, it seems that the coordinating role is still played by the State Traffic Inspectorate, since its powers include the prevention of offenses in the field of road safety. The State Traffic Inspectorate is involved in the work to ensure road safety from the moment of prevention and after the commission of an offense in this area, and medical organizations provide assistance at the stage after the commission of an offense with the victims.

In the Russian Federation, there is a rule that children under the age of seven in cars and trucks should be transported only when using child restraint systems.Child restraint system (restraint device) (child restraint systems) – a set of elements consisting of straps or flexible elements with buckles, regulating devices, fastening parts and, in some cases, an additional device (for example, a baby cradle, a removable child seat, an additional seat and/or a shockproof screen) that can be attached to the inside of the vehicle body. The device must be designed in such a way that, in the event of a collision or sudden braking of the vehicle, the risk of injury to the child in the restraint device is reduced by limiting the mobility of his body.

Based on the wording of the current traffic rules in Russia, it can be concluded that a child aged 7 to 12 years in the back seat of a car is not prohibited to be transported without a restraint device, bearing in mind that a minor must be fastened with a seat belt.

At the same time, in Russia, as well as in European countries, there are "Uniform regulations concerning the official approval of restraints for children in motor vehicles ("Child restraint system")" ^[4]. Taking into account the requirements specified in this document, three types of child restraints are most common in the world: a cradle, a car seat and a booster.

The cradle is a structure designed for the transportation of infants, which can be transported in a car only in the prone position. The booster is necessary in order to provide the child with a high enough fit in order to be able to fasten it with a regular belt. The booster is a seat without a backrest.

Regarding child restraints, all of them are attached to the car seat with the help of standard seat belts, in more modern cars – with the help of locks of the ISOFIX system. Currently, three standards for child seats have been approved: i-Size (UNECE Regulation 129), UNECE Regulation 44/04 and 44/03. The old UNECE standard, Rule 44, divides child seats into clearly defined weight categories, the latest standard is i-Size (UNECE Rule 129) it is based on the growth of the child.

At the same time, checking the compliance of a child car seat with the safety standard is carried out using several crash tests ^[5], which quite realistically simulate emergency braking and an accident occurring, as well as the consequences for a person during sudden braking and collision. Based on this kind of crash tests, experts draw conclusions about the safety compliance of child restraints, as well as analyze the nature of injuries that a person may receive with certain impacts, at a certain speed, etc. These series of crash tests are carried out on an ongoing basis in Germany. In addition, in many European countries, the rules of the road specify that a child can be transported without a child restraint device when he has reached either the age of 12 or the height of 150 cm ^[6]. For example, in Japan, penalties for violating traffic rules are considered the strictest in the world. In addition to large fines, imprisonment is possible against the offender^[7].

In Russia, currently, the Rules of the road paragraph 22.9. prescribes that the transportation of children under the age of 7 years in a passenger car and a truck cab, the design of which provides seat belts or seat belts and child restraint system ISOFIX, must be carried out using child restraint systems (devices) corresponding to the weight and height of the child.

Transportation of children aged 7 to 11 years (inclusive) in a passenger car and a truck cab, the design of which provides seat belts or seat belts and an ISOFIX child restraint system, must be carried out using child restraint systems (devices) corresponding to the weight and height of the child, or using seat belts, and in the front passenger car seat - only with the use of child restraint systems (devices) corresponding to the weight and height of the child.

The installation of child restraint systems (devices) in a passenger car and a truck cab and the placement of children in them must be carried out in accordance with the operating instructions of these systems (devices).

In contrast to the ECE 044 standard (UNECE Regulations 44/04 and 44/03), the new requirements of ECE 129 (UNECE Regulation 129) require children to be placed in a seat against the car not up to 9 months of age, but up to 15 months of age. It should be noted that the i-Size rules (UNECE Rules 129) in force in Europe since 2018, are not in force in Russia until now.

At the same time, car child seats that meet i-Size standards (ECE 129) are tested not only by frontal impact, but also by lateral impact. In addition, the new standard assumes the attachment of a car seat exclusively using the Isofix system and divides child restraints into classes not by weight, but by the height of the child.

Taking into account the existing standards in European countries, it is proposed to amend the current legislation of the Russian Federation and set out paragraph 22.9 of the Rules of the Road in the following wording: "Transportation of children under the age of 12 years or under the height of 150 cm in a passenger car and a truck cab, the design of which provides seat belts or seat belts and children's the ISOFIX restraint system must be implemented using child restraint systems (devices) appropriate to the child's height. "

The Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation provides for an administrative penalty in the form of a fine for violating the rules of transportation of children in the amount of 3,000 rubles (paragraph 3 of Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation – "Violation of the rules of transportation of people"). In the UK, a fine of up to 500 pounds (about 44.7 thousand rubles) is provided for the same violation. At the same time, English legislation^[8] provides for stricter rules of transportation: the child must be in a special chair until he reaches the age of 12 or height over 150 cm. According to Antonov A.A., as in Russia, it would be more accurate to apply some requirements to the weight and size indicators of children of this age category, to indicate, for example, the height of the child, at which he is allowed to use regular seat belts. Even if these cases are not too frequent in life, but it happens that a child at the age of 11 grows to a size when he simply does not fit into a special holding device, without which he cannot be in the front passenger seat of a car. When such a "child" is in the front seat, he rests his head against the roof of the car ^[9].

In addition, the practice of organizing rental points for child restraints has become positive abroad. In the Russian Federation, social projects providing for the practice of renting car seats were put into effect in 2017. Including in Krasnoyarsk, back in 2017, employees of the State Traffic Inspectorate helped to create the first free rental of children's car seats in the city, later a second similar point opened in the city, and by the summer of 2021 there were already more than ten of them in the region. It should be noted that GOST R 57616-2017, the National Standard of the Russian Federation "Household services", currently operates on the territory of our country. Rental services", where, in accordance with clause 3.2.1, Household rental services include: - rental of motor vehicles and other means of transportation, as well as accessories to them (trailers, child car seats, etc.), which gives the right to implement this idea in practice and scale the scope of its application. Other regions have a similar experience, including the Omsk and Orel regions. In the summer of 2019, residents of the Novgorod region had the opportunity to rent a restraint device for free in order to pick up a child from the maternity hospital. The project became part of the social campaign "Culture on the road from the first trip", implemented within the framework of the regional project "Road Safety" ^[10]. At the same time, it is impossible not to agree with the opinion of E.G. Afonina, who proposes to supplement Part 3 of Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation with subparagraph 3.1 ^[11]. The proposed changes will expand the scope of administrative responsibility in the area under consideration and will allow drivers to be punished for repeated violations of the rules for transporting children.  

Agreeing with V.I. Mayorov, who argues that the result of ensuring road safety in the form of a qualitative state of safety of road users is largely determined^[12] by "the correctness of the choice and implementation of measures aimed at reducing accidents" ^[13]. The comprehensive approach proposed in this article to solving the problem of children's road traffic injuries due to violations by the driver of the rules of transportation of children, consisting in changing article 22.9 of the traffic Regulations of the Russian Federation and improving preventive measures in this area, will reduce the number of such offenses, reduce the facts of accidents involving child passengers.