Car seat awareness initiative works to save little lives

South African car seat awareness initiative, #CarseatFullstop, as featured on The Expresso Morning Show, KFM, Cape Talk and many others, launched on 18 July 2016. It aims to enlighten and inspire moms and dads across the country to take better care in protecting their children in cars.

“Car passenger deaths are the 4^th leading cause of unnatural deaths in children in our country. Car seats reduce the risk of death in cars by 71 % for babies and 54 % for toddlers. Currently only 7% of South African children in cars are restrained.” This from car seat awareness initiative, #CarseatFullstop, founder and expert, Mandy Lee Miller. “These numbers are devastating to me.”

The core #CarseatFullstop car seat awareness initiative goal is to spread awareness of, and draw attention to, the critical importance of appropriate child restraints. The call to action to the community at large is to share anything and everything created around the campaign. We want to reach that person in your network that doesn’t know any better. With 93% of children not strapped in, there is definitely somebody you know that doesn’t.

Most parents don’t know that children should be rearwards-facing until at least age 4.

They don’t know that a child needs a booster seat until they are between 10 and 12 years old. Or that a seat belt is safe for an adult male of over 1.5m tall. Or that for those shorter than 1.5m, the seat belt becomes an additional danger unless supported appropriately.

The #CarseatFullstop car seat awareness initiative is also designed to make an impact on those that do know, but don’t recognise the realities of their decisions. At 40km per hour, the blow to your unrestrained child’s head making contact with any part of the car is the same as dropping them from 6 meters onto concrete; that is from a third floor balcony onto concrete. That is the reality.

The weight of your child at the moment of impact is their weight times by the speed you are travelling. If you are in an accident or stop suddenly while driving at just 30km per hour… Your 15 kg 2-year-old takes on the weight of 450kgs – the equivalent of a concert hall grand piano. That is the weight that will hit your windscreen or side windows or somebody else in the car. That is the reality.

Every single person has the power to save a little life. One share, seen by one person, who straps in one child, saves a life. The support network of #CarseatFullstop has over 2 million single human beings following them. Imagine if every single person took a second to hit that share button?

We would love if you would add your voice to our cause. LIKE us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+, and sign up for our newsletter so we can keep you up to date with how things are going and how you can help spread this message further.

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