Laerskool Esperanza was the venue for a mock road block on the morning of 15 September. Dotsure Online Insurance and Wheel Well set up the event as part of National Child Passenger Safety week. Parents dropping their children at the Newlands school were given information about new legislation passed in May earlier this year requiring children aged 12 and under to be strapped into a car seat or booster seat. The information was handed out in the form of a mock fine to parents not complying with the new law. Free car seats and booster seats were given to parents that required them.
Dotsure general manager, Max Pretorius was pleased by the positive reaction to the surprise event. “You expect a bit of hostility but [all of the parents and guardians] were actually very positive. It’s a good cause and I think it helps that it’s for free,” said Pretorius. “We’ve committed to reducing child fatalities by at least 50 per cent of what they are now.”
“We support the cause 100 per cent,” said Martin Bensch, principal of Laerskool Esperanza, “It’s a wonderful initiative that serves the community and educates them. When people explain [the new legislation] like this you can’t say that you didn’t know.”
“Just taking a few minutes before you set off on your car journey, no matter how short, to properly strap your child in can mean the difference between life and death or severe and debilitating injury for your child,” said Peggie Mars of Wheel Well.
National Child Safety week takes place from 13 to 19 September. Dotsure and Wheel Well state in their handout that 85 per cent of South African children travel without wearing seat belts and that safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by 71 per cent for babies under the age of one and by 54 per cent for toddlers aged one to four.
