A few weeks back we saw Volkswagen Group Malaysia (VGM) holding for the first time, a child passenger safety campaign in collaboration with the Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar Malaysia (PPBM) which saw VGM proiding a roundhouse awareness training program to reduce child fatalities on the road.
VGM has made good on their deal to help spread the message far and wide when they contributed 200 Volkswagen child seat units and a further 10,000 copies of the A-Z of road safety flash cards given out to participants of the Child Passenger Safety (CPS) campaign.
The CPS workshops will be conducted nationwide for 280 childcare centres until August this year. The workshop training includes hands-on assistance with proper use of child restraint systems and safety belts. VGM’s Director of Human Resource, Sharifah Salmah Syed Harun said, “Statistics revealed that the use of child seats reduces the risk of death by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for children aged between one to five.”
We couldn’t agree more with VGM and their stand on this matter. Exposure, awareness and proper training needs to be conducted on a wider scale to curtail this problem and nip it in the bud. And as proof that Volkswagen cars are keeping to the time and ideology, all models in the family lineup come with ISOFIX mounting points.
There is sound reasoning behind the use of child seats. Seat belts are designed to work most effectively with grown adults in terms of height. Infants and children on the other hand, are required to be holstered down in rear and front facing seats respectively whilst older kids should be strapped onto a booster seat which maximises the effectiveness of a seatbelt, given the height of the passenger. So guys, always remember to buckle up, even when taking the back seat. It will go a long way.
