You are the driver, not your child
Wheel Well came to collect child car seats that had been donated to them, and provided some valuable information on child passenger safety during their visit.
The only NGO of its kind, Wheel Well focuses exclusively on children in road safety. In July, the organisation appealed to the community to donate old, used children’s car seats to them, so that they could be given to families who cannot afford them.
Peggie Mars, the founder of Wheel Well came to the Caxton Johannesburg West Rand Branch to fetch three chairs that were generously donated by Roodepoort residents. Given the recent statistics that have been released regarding child passenger deaths, Peggie provided some valuable information about child passenger safety.
Also Read:
https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2016/12/12/man-dies-woman-and-child-critically-injured-in-collision/
In 2019, Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week was held from 15 to 22 September; but one week to create awareness is not enough. Child passenger safety is an issue that should be tackled year-round, to protect all children in vehicles.
An extremely important part of ensuring a child passenger’s safety is child restraints. “Children do not drive vehicles, we do. It is up to us to keep them safe,” said Peggie.
According to statistics from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), 1 576 children under the age of 14 died as passengers in vehicles throughout South Africa in 2018. This is 157 more children than in 2017. It has been reported that most of the deaths recorded could have been prevented had child restraints or seatbelts been used.
Children who are not correctly restrained in a vehicle when it crashes typically die from blunt force trauma to the head or other vulnerable body parts. Child restraints are specifically designed to prevent this, and protect the child’s head, spine and vital organs.
Seat belts are designed for people who are at least 1,5m tall; this is why they cannot provide the same safety benefits as car seats for children that are smaller in stature.
Children are only ready to ride with a seat belt when they can say ‘yes’ to all of the following five questions:
•Can you sit with your back against the backrest of the vehicle?
•Can your knees bend over the front of the seat?
•Does the shoulder belt rest on the middle of your shoulder?
•Does the lap belt fit low over the top of your legs?
•Can you sit like this for the whole ride?
For more information on how to keep children safe as passengers, parents are welcome to contact Wheel Well by visiting https://www.wheelwell.org.za or contacting Peggie Mars, the founder, on 072 396 712 or peggie@wheelwell.org.za.
If your children have outgrown their car seat and can answer all five of the above-mentioned questions with a yes, don’t let the old car seats gather dust – donate them to Wheel Well to help them keep children safe. Car seats can be dropped off at any InspectaCar or Renault dealership, as well as SkyNet branches nationwide.
