Improvement of Psychosocial Supportive Mobility through 7-seater Vehicles: The Scope of Child Restraint System

Abstract

The regulation of Child Restraint System (CRS) in Malaysia will pose a psychosocial challenge for road users' mobility: specifically, the limitation of in-vehicle space to allow for the whole family to travel together. Secondary data that various agencies published indicate significant number of road users will face this issue as their family sizes are five and above. The country's collectivistic culture further contributes to the seriousness of the issue as people need to travel together to fulfil the demands and norms of the society, which includes various "makan- makan" and gathering events. While 7-seater are the potential solution for this issue, the users' financial constraints limit them to only selective options of such vehicles in the market requiring them to make trade-offs. The article ends with a calling to the government to consider various approaches as to make the mobility in Malaysia safer and more psychosocially supportive.