Our entity develops an intense activity within the frame that regulates road safety and education control, promoting -as expected- the application of all the regulations established through the current legislations.
In that sense, it is worth mentioning that the Ley Nacional de Tránsito 24.449, in its 40th article, states that in order to drive an automotive it is essential that the number of passengers inside keeps relation with the capacity which it was built for, without disturbing the driver. Children under 10 years old must travel in the back seat. The decree 779/95, statutory of the law before mentioned, adds in section g.1 that children under 10 must travel held to the back seat with the corresponding harness.
In the range of Buenos Aires Province, the law 11.430 of full validity, section 8 from the 4th article, mentions that when a vechicle has a number of passengers which surpasses the amount determined, it must be stopped, a statement of driving offence must be executed and it must remain there until the situation is returned to normal. When the Art. 47 specifies the essential requirements for vehicle flow in the public road, it adds in its section 9 that the number of passengers should not surpass the amount determined in this Code or the one required by the legislation for passenger public transportation. In addition, Art. 63º stipulates that children under 12 years old, must travel without exception in the back seat of cars and vans.
On the other hand, an important number of specialized publications suggests that children should not travel in the front seat of the cars, discouraging them at the same time to sit on adults’ laps. As soon as the current legislations are analized, it will be noticed, both in the law 24.449 and in the Traffic Code of the Province of Buenos Aires, that there is no specification on how to proceed with vehicles that have no rear dispositions and what to do if children have to be transfered in those vehicles, which must be understood as a legal vacuum or a situation not included in the whereas clause of the regulations.
For all these reasons, it is our obligation to take a responsible attitude which protects the physical integrity of passengers, especially children. Naturally, they do not have the convenient protection in a frontal vehicle, such as many of our roadside service cars which are assigned to tug vehicles in the public road and have no back seats.
We know that many of our members can be surprised, confused and even annoyed by the scope of the Traffic Law 24.449, but in these cases what prevails is our commitment and responsible attitude which protects the physical integrity of casual passengers. Therefore, be it known that our entity has decided to give priority to a habit that protects children under 12 from eventual damage or risk, by not transferring them in our units with single cabin, thus clearly stating that -when dealing with motor tug that departs from the urban surroundings and is more than 80 kilometers away from the address given by the member – the Travel Assistance Service will be called, upon the basis of the benefits stated in its general conditions, in order to solve with rationality the eventual matter in discussion. |
