このページはフレーム対応ブラウザ用に作成されています。下のリンクは非フレーム使用ページですのでそちらをご覧ください。
この記事をプリントする
子供はきちんとチャイルドシートに
法律で決められたことなのに、日本ではチャイルドシートに子供を座らせない親の何と多いことか、と筆者のジョエル・アソグバさんは憤る。
車内で子供の安全を確保することは、子供に食べ物を与え、水を飲ませるのと同じく大切なことのはずなのだが…。
Lack of restraint
One day, a Japanese friend of mine, his 2-year-old son and I were about to go to the amusement park in their car. The little boy was not in his safety seat; he was just standing in the front passenger seat. To my great surprise, the father did not feel it was necessary to restrain his toddler in the safety seat before moving off.
"Hey! Why don't you put your son in the safety seat first?" I asked.
"It's too much work to buckle him in the seat," he replied. "Besides, he cries a lot when I try to fasten the seat belt. I guess he doesn't like the seat."
"Aren't you concerned about your child's safety?" I said. "Even at low speed, a minor impact is enough to send your lovely son banging into the windshield if he is not in the safety seat."
He did not seem to agree with me. However, I insisted on putting the little boy into the safety seat saying, "You should use the seat because it's the regulation now." He finally stopped the car and put his son in the seat. The child did not want to stay in the seat and cried a lot, but I tried to calm him down while his father fastened the seat belt.
I am certain no one likes to hear awful stories about car accidents, especially ones that involve children. But the chilling truth is that many infants are killed every year in Japan because their parents do not feel it is necessary to restrain them in a safety seat. Ever since I came to Japan, I have been puzzled by the total lack of child restraint in family cars. I see countless cars with young children (sometimes two or more) standing up in the front passenger seat, grandmothers holding toddlers in their arms, mothers driving with babies strapped to their chest; but what I rarely see is a vehicle that has been fitted with a safety seat.
It defies logic. If parents didn't feed their children or give them water to drink, they would be tried for neglect, maybe even murder. Shouldn't parents have the same obligation to keep their children safe in a car?
To see beautiful little faces pushed up against the front and back windows of such well-kept speeding cars is criminal. But the Japanese police seem to be either unwilling or unable to do anything about it. If some kind of on-the-spot fine was introduced for offending drivers, I am sure this kind of irresponsible behavior would soon decrease or even disappear.
Maybe I am preaching to the converted here. I certainly hope that every parent reading this article already uses safety seats for his or her children. If not, I would like to call general public attention to the dangerous lack of awareness. There are plenty of conventional car seats available on the market. They are not too expensive and relatively easy to install. If you really do love your children, buckle them up in car seats for their safety.
- Lack of restraint
- (子供をシートに)固定しないこと
- safety seat
- チャイルドシート
- front passenger seat
- 助手席
- restrain 〜
- 〜を固定する
- toddler
- 小さい子供
- It's too much work to 〜
- 〜するのは大変なんだ
- buckle him in the seat
- チャイルドシートに乗せてベルトを締める
- fasten 〜
- 〜を締める
- banging into 〜
- 〜にドンとぶつかる
- windshield
- フロントガラス
- regulation
- 規則
- calm 〜 down
- 〜を落ち着かせる
- I am certain 〜
- 〜だと確信している
- chilling
- 恐ろしい
- infants
- 幼児
- with babies strapped to their chest
- ひもで胸に赤ちゃんをくくり付けて
- It defies logic
- 理屈に合わない
- be tried
- 裁判にかけられる
- neglect
- 育児放棄
- obligation
- 義務
- pushed up against 〜
- 〜に押し付けられた
- front and back windows
- フロントガラスとリアガラス
- well-kept
- 手入れの行き届いた
- criminal
- とんでもない
- on-the-spot fine
- その場での罰金
- offending
- 法を守らない
- am preaching to the converted
- 余計な世話を焼いている
- call general public attention to 〜
- 〜について一般市民に注意を喚起する
- lack of awareness
- 認識不足
- conventional
- ごく普通の
- on the market
- 売り出されて
- install
- 装着する