According to the 2024 Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, from January 1, 2026, adults will be prohibited from allowing children under 10 years old and under 1.35 meters in height to sit in the front row with the driver (except in cases where the vehicle only has one row of seats).

Additionally, drivers of cars with under nine seats must use or give instruction on the use of appropriate safety restraints for children. The fine for violating this regulation ranges from VND800,000 to VND1 million.

The regulation on mandatory use of child safety seats has long been common in many developed countries. In Vietnam, supporters, including parents with safe driving habits, people who have lived or worked abroad, and medical experts, view this as an inevitable step forward.

Nguyen Tien Dung (Mao Khe, Quang Ninh), the father of two children aged 4 and 6, said: “Many people still let their kids sit in the front seat, even allow them to stand up to look at the road, or let the mother hold the child in the passenger seat. Just one sudden brake, even without collision, can send the child flying or subject them to a double impact from the airbag. A child’s life is priceless, spending a few million dong on a car seat is not something anyone should trade away.”

Lam Vu Thanh (HCMC) added: “A child’s safety is our responsibility. Don’t focus on your own comfort and respond in a careless or makeshift way. When helmet rules were first introduced, many people also complained, but then everyone complied.”

He also noted that seat belts are designed for adults, and they are ineffective and harmful for small children. “Using a specialized car seat isn’t just an added tool of protection; but it also ensures proper posture, especially for kids under one year old,” said Ho Duc Dat, a VinFast owner.

Studies show that child safety restraints in cars help reduce deaths and severe injuries by 70–90 percent in case of collision. On large forums, many accounts shared videos simulating collisions with and without child seats, showing a clear difference in protective capability. They argue that this is a necessary step to enhance traffic civilization.

Cost and inconvenience: barriers to compliance?

Meanwhile, a significant portion of users, especially families with many children under 10 and service drivers, have expressed concerns about practicality.

Financial burden is the first barrier. Thu Hoai (Ha Dong, Hanoi) said: "My family has two children, one 8 years old and one just over 1 year old. Safety seats for these two ages  are different. A high-quality, standard seat costs VND3–VND5 million. Buying two is really a problem. Not to mention, children grow quickly, and we'll have to replace them in a few years.

“Inconvenience and feasibility are the second issue. This worry is most evident in families with many children or those using small cars. Le Dang Trung (My Dinh, Hanoi) raised a question: "I have three children and a 5-seater car. If I install three child seats, there won't be a single millimeter left in the back row. Where will the accompanying adult sit? Should I have to switch to a 7-seater car?"

On OTO+ forum, Le Duc Bang argued that child car seats are most suitable for kids under two, while children aged three and above only need belt-positioning devices to prevent the seat belt from rubbing on their necks. Sitting on a raised seat, he said, puts the child’s center of gravity higher, making the ride shakier and potentially less safe.

“No one denies the good intentions or importance of protecting children in traffic. However, for any policy to take root in daily life, it must be feasible in addition to being correct, otherwise it risks becoming a “paper rule” or creating new burdens for the public,” Bang said.

On November 17, during the discussion session on the draft law amending and supplementing several articles of 10 laws related to security and order, National Assembly member Ha Sy Dong (Quang Tri) also raised this issue.

He said: “If the child car seat rule is applied too rigidly, many families may end up transporting children by motorbike instead of by car or taxi, which exposes them to even higher accident risks. This has happened in Indonesia and the Philippines, where mandatory child seat regulations led to a 15–30 percent increase in parents taking their children to school on motorbikes.”

Vu Diep