March 1 came today, and with it came the Ministry of Transportation regulation requiring parents to install anti-child forgetting systems in the vehicle, but the Department of Homeland Security announced it would not enforce, the Ministry of Transportation wants to repeal the regulation and in Chelm State parents became criminals overnight. The date was known in advance and with it also the objection of the Economics Committee to approve the cancellation of the installation at the request of the Ministry of Transport. It will be recalled that the former Minister of Transport, Miri Regev, signed it, while the current Minister, Merav Michaeli, is demanding its abolition, claiming that the systems have not been proven effective in preserving the lives of children.
However, in Israel it is customary for regulations to be approved by the Knesset, and the Economics Committee headed by Michael Bitton informed Sarah many months ago that they would oppose the abolition of the regulation without presenting a significant alternative that would ensure the protection of children’s lives. Just a few days before the end of February, the ministry submitted to the chairman of the subcommittee on road safety, MK Boaz Toporovsky, alternative proposals that include investing in budgets in favor of information on the subject, but they were rejected outright.
The Ministry of Transportation is dragging its feet
Toporovsky and Bitton then proposed to the Ministry of Transport to conduct a pilot using these systems this year with an investment of a few millions in exchange for canceling the installation and examining the efficiency of the systems, but the Ministry of Transport did not respond to their proposal as of this writing. A three-way meeting was held today between Toporovsky, Bitton and Deputy Minister Avir Kara demanding the cancellation of the installation. The three tried to make a phone call with a senior official in the office to explore alternatives – but the call was not answered. Thus, even Kara, who announced yesterday the cancellation of the installation as a commitment on his part in exchange for the approval of the Military Pensions Act – remained stunned.
The chairman of the Economics Committee, MK Bitton, told Globes: “I have authorized MK Boaz Toporovsky, chairman of the subcommittee on the fight against road accidents, to discuss with the Ministry of Transportation. We offered them to invest a modest budget in the pilot to purchase kits and information in a few million – we also offered to run the pilot in clusters 1-4 and distribute through milk drops, preschool centers and day care centers for families. The pilot will be accompanied by research for a year With clear schedules and budgets, and at the same time we will allow a postponement of the implementation of the installation for a year. “
According to Bitton, “If there is no real government move on the issue of forgetting children in the car beyond information, this installation is in force and the Ministry of Transport will be responsible for the well-being of the children in the summer that excites us. “.
MK Michael Bitton / Photo: Knesset Spokeswoman, Danny Shem Tov
Toporovsky, acting chairman of the coalition and chairman of the subcommittee for the promotion of road safety, said that “the State of Israel must do everything in its power to save lives on Israeli roads. A system for forgetting children is an immediate and effective solution to eradicate the phenomenon that affects the lives of toddlers. “Despite the dragging of the legs of the Ministries of Transportation and Finance, which leads to the risk of human life, it is good that they promote a correct and proper and beautiful layout one hour earlier.”
MK Boaz Toporovsky / Photo: Noam Moskowitz, Spokeswoman for the Knesset
“At this time, it is our duty to act to create certainty for the citizens of Israel in relation to the implementation of technological developments and to do so sensitively, while providing the appropriate information and information on the subject. “In the lives of children who will be forgotten in the car. As chairman of the subcommittee on promoting road safety, I will continue to fight for the prevention of unfortunate events, as happens every summer, leading to the entry of more broken families into the terrible cycle of bereavement,” Toporovsky added.
The director general of the Child Welfare Council, Adv. Vered Windman, said: “The decision to repeal the regulation is a bad and unfortunate decision that will cost children their lives. This position was conveyed to the Minister of Transportation and even to the Prime Minister. Against this background, it is critical that the chairman of the Economics Committee insist on demanding the implementation of an alternative regulation or promotion that will help save children from serious injury and death as a result of forgetting the vehicle, while at the same time making it easier for parents to purchase the system.
The Ministry of Transportation stated: “As part of the ‘Clean Spring’ decision to reduce regulation, led by Deputy Minister Kara, the government decided that the regulation prohibiting the transport of children up to the age of 4 in a vehicle, which did not have a warning system to keep children in the vehicle, should be repealed. The lack of data indicating the efficiency of the systems, as well as the high economic cost that the obligation imposes on the public and actually produces ‘parental tax’.
“The Ministry of Transportation has placed on the table of the Economy Committee the request to cancel the installation, in accordance with the government decision, and is awaiting a hearing in the Economics Committee to approve the request. At the same time, the Ministry of Transportation To the subject. “