Social campaign "Car Seat to Every Child" began November 1

01 November 2011

On November 1 a large-scale social campaign "Car Seat-children" was rolled out in Russia. The campaign was initiated by the Russian Interior Ministry Traffic Police Inspectorate with support of the Russian Union of Car Insurers. The agency Zavod Consulting was selected to implement the project. The agency is working with the Traffic Police Inspectorate several years in the area of developing catchy social campaigns on the issue of the traffic road safety.
The main objective of the campaign deals with reducing the number of young passengers that are involved in motor vehicle accidents. Children in the car are the most vulnerable category of passengers. No passive safety feature is designed for children Inside cars. Under similar circumstances unfastened young passengers sustain more severe injuries than adults. The number of accidents involving children in Russia remains unacceptably high. The majority of the casualties are young passengers. They are dying because of the fact that parents forget fasten them in the car, making small family budget savings on skipping the purchase of a car seat. Car seat can save the lives of children and reduce the severity of the consequences of accidents on the road. The number of parents and drivers using child car seats is too low.
The beginning of the social campaign "Car Seat to Every Child" was marked with a press conference. The press conference the press conference took place on November 1 in the office of the news agency "RIA Novosti".
- The campaign is addressing the issue of convincing parents that without car seat the child cannot be transported inside the car. Purchasing a car seat should be of ultimate priority in the family expecting a baby. The car seat must be bought simultaneously with a crib and stroller, - said the head of the main directorate on Road Safety in Interior Ministry Victor Nilov.- If every child is transported inside a car seat the number of children suffered road accidents will be reduced.
It is through such social campaigns as "Car Seat to Every Child" that the culture of behavior on the roads can be changed which, in turn, will improve the standard of safe driving.
- Safety status of the children on the road is the issue requiring special attention. Every parent should understand how important it is to ensure the maximum protection of a child inside car. The campaign that is carried out by the traffic police with the support of RCIU is yet another step towards developing the culture safe driving and respect to the road safety issues, - added RCIU President Pavel Bunin.
The law requiring to transport children under 12 year old in car seats was enacted in 2007; however, the provisions of this law are not always respected.
- It is amazing how acute the problem is: according to the opinion polls in Russia 44% of parents having children under 12 do not have car seats and did not even plan to purchase them, - said the president of organization "Risk Free Road Traffic" Natalia Agra. - We are faced with a very difficult task of convincing half the country that using car seats when traveling with a child is mandatory. No seats, no travel, no excuse.
The irresponsible attitude of parents to the safety of their own children is reflected in the data gathered by the traffic police. The numbers are shocking: during the first 9 months of 2011 the mortality rate among young passengers increased by 12.5% if compared to the same period last year; this statistics on injuries grew by 3.7%. In 2010 as many as 898 children were killed on the Russian roads and 21 149 were injured. 60% of fatalities and 40% of casualties are children involved in the motor vehicle accidents.
- This year the number of children injured and killed in MVA exceeded the number of young pedestrians who suffered the consequences of motor vehicle accidents; now we have to follow the different set of rules, - shares his view the deputy director of the Moscow Institute of Pediatrics and Pediatric Surgery of the Russian Health Ministry, MD, Professor Vladimir Mikhailovich Rozinov. - A child who is seating in a back seat inside a child seat is 2.5 times likely to survive a head-on collision. On the other hand the chances to survive for a child sitting on the front passenger seat without using safety belts are 3.5 times lower. I think this numbers are convincing enough to make parents always using car seats and fastening their children. What could be more dramatic than a child's death?
These are the adults to be blamed for tragedies that happen on the roads involving children.
- It is traditional for our culture to hinge responsibility for children to doctors, to kindergarten, to school, - sais Xenia Alferova, an actress and a mother of a 4-year old daughter. - Mothers are confident that their primary duty is to feed a child, and the rest of the issues will be taken care of by somebody else. But when you are transporting your child in the car, there is nobody to pass the responsibility on to. The responsibility lies entirely with the parent. I think it's scary to take the blame for the life of your child. And this is how journeys end when at the time of the accident the child was sitting on mother’s laps.
In his turn, Professor Vladimir Rozinov believes that a serious liability should be introduced to punish parents not using car seats.
- High cost of a car seat is not an argument to stay away from buying it. The fact is the responsibility for the injured child is passed on the Government in event of an accident. The cost of treatment of a seriously injured child in intensive care unit is about 5000 rubles a day.
President of NGO "Risk Free Road Traffic" Natalia Agra and actress Xenia Alferova unanimously agreed on the need to make a legislative move to increase fines for failing to use child seats.
- The penalty for failing to use child car seats should be comparable to the cost of a car seat amounting to 3 to 5 thousand rubles - Natalia Agra concluded.
Starting with November 1 a video "Car Seat to Every Child" will be shown on federal channels, in the cable television network and in cinema theaters as a preview. The idea of the video is to remind parents that children should be transported in cars in special car seats. Radio clips "Car Seat to Every Child" will be broadcasted by the popular radio stations "Vesti FM" and "Autoradio". A supporting information campaign will be carried out in the media.
An education and interactive quest "Cresland Treasures" will be held in 10 cities in amusement parks and in shopping centers. This is the quest addressed to children and parents. Parents will learn how to fasten children properly, adults will learn that transporting children without car seats is highly risky and children can participate in contests winning prizes and gifts. They will be given the chance to sit in the car seat and realize that it is quite comfortable and - most importantly - safe.

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Social campaign "Car Seat to Every Child" began November 1

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