Originally Posted by
rsolomon
Will be in TPE soon with my 9yo and 6yo - the 6yo still rides in a booster seat in the US, mostly for comfort/visibility and not for any legal reasons.
Will she be required to ride in a booster seat in Taiwan?
Not sure if you had started your journey but...
Yes, there are carseats laws applied to under 4-year-old and/or 18kg kids/babies. Commercial cars (taxis, I think) and ambulance are excluded.
If you 6-year-old weight more than 18KG, then you don't have to worry about it.
Due to the density of population in Taiwan, you don't get to "speed" as much in the cities. Especially in Taipei, expect traffic jams and tons of short stops. That means it may be a bumpy drive for westerner passengers.
Originally Posted by
socalterp
I think there was a law requiring car seats enacted fairly recently, but don't know the details.
If you consider 6 years as "recent", yes the carseat laws were enacted in 2004 (effective on June 1st, 2004).
For those who read Traditional Chinese (try
Google Translate if you don't), here are the links:
1. a video clip about the law:
http://168.motc.gov.tw/GIPSite/wSite...Node=1386&mp=1
2. tableted arseat/booster laws:
http://168.motc.gov.tw/GIPSite/wSite...de=1491&mp=300
3. the 14-article passenger vehicle regulation:
http://news.ples.ntct.edu.tw/~traffic/93/law01.htm
4. Carseat/booster specifics in passenger vehicles:
http://news.ples.ntct.edu.tw/~traffic/93/law03.htm
5. law-reinforcment guidelines for carseats/boosters:
http://news.ples.ntct.edu.tw/~traffic/93/law02.htm
Originally Posted by
fumo
traffic rules are non-existent there. guess u dont really need the car seat, but do use it if its safer or more comfortable for your kid.
the taxis doesnt even come with rear seatbelts. I was trying to belt up and couldnt!
(emphasis mine)
I have to respectfully disagree. Traffic rules/laws do exist.
Whether they are reinforced (or how strictly they are reinforced), that's another story. The US law doesn't allow speeding either. It doesn't mean everyone who speeds gets a speeding ticket. At least I don't get as many speeding tickets as I speed.
FWIW, rear seatbelts don't come with every taxis/cars (due to the age or/and models or design).
I do agree, carseat is for the safety of your child. You don't use it just becuase the law requires.
As far as seatbelt is concerned, it's not mandatory in Taiwan until 2001. Even so,
only drivers and frontseat passengers are required to have the seatbelts on at all time. The revision to include rear seats passengers was proposed (again) last week but didn't make it.
I had the "US influence" in late 80s. Ever since 1990, I always buckle up whenever I am in Taiwan, with or without the laws. It doesn't matter if I am the driver or passenger, I always have my seatbelt on. I used to be the only person in my family to do so whenever I was in the car. In the last couple of years, the front seat passenger in our family car gets to put on the seatbelt as well.
I have to say though, I don't know how often/likely to get a ticket/citation for not wearing a seatbelt or using a carseat.