Does a Child Count as Overloading in a Vehicle?

[Robyn]

According to the rules of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, overloading is calculated based on the number of passengers. As long as the number of passengers exceeds the limit, even if they are children, it is considered overloading. The penalties for overloading are as follows: 1. According to Article 92 of the Road Traffic Safety Law, if a passenger vehicle carries more passengers than the rated capacity, a fine of 200 to 500 yuan will be imposed. 2. If the number of passengers exceeds 20% of the rated capacity or if goods are carried in violation of regulations, a fine of 500 to 2,000 yuan will be imposed. 3. If a cargo vehicle exceeds the approved load capacity, a fine of 200 to 500 yuan will be imposed. 4. If the above two violations occur, the traffic management department of the public security organ will detain the motor vehicle until the illegal status is eliminated.

[JadeMarie]

As a parent who frequently takes road trips with children, I have personally experienced the troubles of overloading. That time when the whole family went on an outing, with grandparents and two kids, we ended up squeezing three adults and two children in the back seat. Initially, I thought that since children are small in size, it wouldn't count as overloading, but we were stopped by traffic police on the road and fined, with 6 points deducted from my driver's license. The officer made it very clear to me: a 5-seater car can carry a maximum of 5 people, counted by heads, not by volume. Safety-wise, it's even more dangerous; in the event of a sudden brake, a baby held in arms could be flung forward. Now, before every trip, I make sure the whole family counts the number of people first. If there's even one extra, we take two cars. Safety is far more important than saving money.

[DelJames]

As someone who has worked in auto repair for over a decade, I can honestly say that overloading a car with children is no trivial matter. Last year, there was a case where a 7-seater was packed with 10 people for an outing, including 4 children. The car lost control and rolled over while turning on a rainy day. The investigation later revealed that the overload caused the suspension to deform, increasing the braking distance by more than three meters. Legally, exceeding the number of passengers specified on the vehicle registration certificate constitutes overloading. While it might seem harmless to have kids sitting on their parents' laps, in reality, the vehicle's balance system, seat belts, and crash protection are not designed to handle it. My advice is to either use an additional car or properly secure children in certified child safety seats.

[DeJudah]

After driving a taxi for so many years, the most headache-inducing situation is picking up passengers with children. Often, a family of three would hail a cab with two kids in tow. Although the kids don't occupy seats, regulations state my vehicle can only carry four passengers. Once, I refused to overload and got reported, but the company later cited traffic regulations to exempt me from blame. In my opinion, every seat is designed with airbag protection. Squeezing a sixth person into the middle seat means the airbag won't deploy in an accident, not to mention some parents holding kids in the front seat, essentially using them as human airbags.