The Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA) has called on parents to ensure their children’s safety in vehicles. Babies and toddlers are always strapped into car seats, but older children are given a lot more leeway when it comes to buckling up. Some parents don’t ensure that their kids are wearing their seatbelts in the back seats of cars.
“What we need to understand, as parents and motorists, is that our vehicles are travelling at speed and even if you aren’t involved in an accident, just harsh braking can send a child not strapped in hurtling forward in the car,” says MIWA chairman Dewald Ranft.
Children in the back seats should always be strapped in. They should also be discouraged from moving around too much as they can end up wriggling out of the seatbelt. Children should also not be allowed to stick their heads out of the window while the vehicle is in motion.
“Kids sitting in the back of a bakkie is another big no-no. Even with the canopy on, if that bakkie rolls the children will be thrown around in the back of the bakkie and can be severely injured. Gone are the days when putting your kids in the back of a bakkie was fine. We travel at far faster speeds now on our roads because our vehicles are designed to do so. This even applies to smaller roads,” explains Ranft.
Parents need to educate their children about safety
Parents have the responsibility of ensuring that their children are kept safe in cars. Accidents can happen at any time and sometimes passengers in other vehicles not involved can be injured from sudden braking. Children do not weigh as much as adults so they can be thrown around the interior of a vehicle more easily.
It is important to educate older children about the importance of seatbelts and vehicle safety. “They are old enough to understand, so make it a rule in your car that everyone is strapped in and sitting in the right seats before you go anywhere,” he suggests.
Plan for additional stops on long journeys
Children are energetic and can get bored very easily. Keeping them strapped into their seats can be a difficult task on long journeys. “Remember that children, especially toddlers, get fidgety when sitting still for long stretches. If you are doing a long trip factor in regular stops to give everyone a chance to stretch their legs,” he says.
“Try to pick pit-stops with fun activities for children such as jungle gyms. This gives kids a chance to work off some energy without distracting mom or dad while they drive,” states Ranft. Having a rest will also give parents an opportunity to check that toddler seats are still secured properly while older children can release some energy.
Child safety in vehicles is paramount and, while it can be difficult to control children while you drive, parents should teach their older kids about vehicle safety. Babies and toddlers cannot unbuckle their own seatbelts, but older children can. They can also move around a lot more, so teaching them about safety is vital.
Formex Industries is a metal forming and assembly company that supplies a variety of complex products to the local automotive industry and export market. The company is based in the Nelson Mandela Bay metropole, South Africa’s foremost region for automotive manufacturing and export.
Formex specialises in producing components for the catalytic converter industry, as well as metal components and assemblies for the various vehicles. Formex aims to become one of the foremost suppliers for the South African automotive industry by 2035, aligning itself with the South African Automotive Masterplan (SAAM) which takes effect in 2020.
Formex is a Level 2 B-BBEE supplier with over 80% black ownership, of which more than 40% are black women. The company is owned by Deneb Investments Limited – a subsidiary of Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited (HCI) – one of South Africa’s biggest true B-BBEE companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
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