Population decline: Russian drivers don't take care of their children's lives
Since the beginning of the year, Russians have purchased 120,000 seat belt pads worth 56 million rubles. This is potentially 120,000 dead or seriously injured children, experts warn. Since September 1 of this year, seat belt pads are generally prohibited for use in a car. Izvestia found out whether they would stop buying them.
A real disaster
From January to August, seat belt linings ("triangles", "headscarves") sold 119,894 pieces, and the amount of revenue reached 55.8 million rubles. This was reported to Izvestia by analysts at Moneyplace (part of the Kontur business ecosystem) based on sales data on popular marketplaces. Sales of such surrogates decreased by 11.8% compared to the same period last year. On the contrary, the demand for much more effective child restraints has increased significantly. 206,320 children's seats were purchased (+74.6% by 2024), 99,926 boosters (+95.78%).
Despite the encouraging trend, 120,000 child restraint surrogates sold is a "real disaster," Denis Zagarin, head of the FSUE NAMI testing center, told Izvestia.
— This is potentially 120 thousand dead or seriously injured children. Numerous experiments and tests have shown that in the event of an accident, various "headscarves", "pads" or "adapters" not only do not protect the child, but in some cases further injure him. First of all, the internal organs of the abdominal cavity are damaged when the child "dives" under these, if I may say so, "devices". In addition, they are not able to provide protection from a side impact. The fact that sales of these "accessories" have decreased is certainly encouraging. But 120,000 of these "devices" is a very large number,— said Denis Zagarin.
Rosstandart's tests with a six-year-old child's dummy, conducted at the FSUE NAMI autopolygon, showed that the triangle pad is dangerous.
"Ready to buy vodka"
One of the main reasons for the popularity of overlays is their price (an average of 451 rubles, according to Moneyplace). Whereas a child safety seat costs an average of 4328 rubles, and a booster costs 2304 rubles.
Maxim Kadakov, the editor—in-chief of Za Rulem, considers such savings unacceptable - we are talking about the safety of children.
— People are ready to buy vodka, but they are not ready to buy chairs for children. I don't understand that. In addition, you can buy a baby chair, you can even beg from someone whose children have already grown up. It's the same as with baby strollers. If you don't have money for a stroller, it doesn't mean that you won't have a stroller. Some people just don't want to do it. Someone doesn't want to carry a chair in the car. They're uncomfortable, you see," Maxim Kadakov said.
By grinding
Roskachestvo has been fighting dangerous restraining devices for years.
"Having identified such cards, we contacted both sellers and representatives of marketplaces: they explained that the goods were illegal, and demanded that the cards be blocked. In most cases, either sellers voluntarily withdrew the product from sale, or marketplaces blocked the cards. But in some cases, we were forced to transfer the data to regulatory authorities, in particular to the territorial bodies of Rosstandart, the Federal Accreditation Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A number of sellers were administratively liable," the press service of Roskachestvo reported. As of February 2025, 191 products, including frameless chairs, were blocked. Marketplaces have promised to regularly monitor and block ads for the sale of pads.
One seller was fined 20,000 rubles, while the other reported on the withdrawal of the product from sale and its "destruction by crushing."
In early September, Roskachestvo continued to report on the successes: after reviewing the information collected on the sale of surrogates, Rosstandart decided to fine two sellers 10,000 rubles each, and another voluntarily stopped selling unsafe products on the marketplace.
Against the background of the number of overlays sold in eight months, the success is still modest. Izvestia sent a request to Roskachestvo to provide aggregate data on the blocking of goods and fines to sellers, but no response had been received by the time the material was released.
Straps and rags are illegal
The situation may change dramatically from September 1, 2025. Since that date, all types of straps, adapters, seat belts and frameless seats are prohibited by the rules of the road for use in a car.
For violation, the fine for individuals will amount to 3 thousand rubles, for legal entities — up to 100 thousand rubles, said First deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for Family Protection Tatyana Butskaya.
— This means that now you will definitely not see these straps and rags in any taxi car. If this happens, it's a reason to at least make a remark to the driver, and if he ignores you, contact the car park," she clarified.
The huge number of surrogate products purchased since the beginning of the year is due to the fact that some drivers simply do not understand what is DUU and what is not, said Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
— It is possible that now that there is a clear ban on surrogates in the traffic regulations, they will be bought less. As long as they are sold online and in stores, they will still be taken. Explanatory work is needed to show which accessory is important and ensures the safety of the child in the car, and which is a pacifier, often even dangerous," the expert noted.
What kind of fine will you have to pay
The State Traffic Inspectorate reminded Izvestia that the use of "pads", "adapters" and other similar surrogates when transporting children is unacceptable. Their use is fraught with the most serious consequences in the event of an accident, the department noted.
— Various straps, adapters, retainers, seat belt pads and other similar items are not child restraints. Their use is a violation of traffic regulations and, according to Part 3 of Article 12.23 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, threatens with a fine of 3 thousand rubles," said Police Colonel Anton Belan, deputy head of the Department for road Safety Promotion and prevention of child traffic injuries of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
The State Traffic Inspectorate emphasizes that it is not only the use of a child safety seat that makes a trip with a child safe, and they remind of the need to switch to the "child mode" of driving a car in which children are traveling. Drivers should avoid sudden maneuvers, avoid overtaking, even where permitted by road signs and markings, and avoid being distracted by phone conversations, even with the use of a special headset or smartphone integration with the car's multimedia system. All the driver's attention should be paid to monitoring the traffic situation, the department emphasizes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
