Peggie Mars of Strijdom Park-based organisation Wheel Well attended the 17th Annual Conference on the Protection of Children in Cars in Munich, Germany at the end of last year. The conference showcased new developments and trends in the car seat industry. Mars was sponsored by Safeway Babies for travel and daily costs, and selected as a speaker at the event.
Her topic was ‘Using computer-based training (CBT) in promoting the study of car seat instruction manuals towards decreasing misuse of car seats’. Millennials have children already and have not turned to books to access information. CBT platforms have offered more scope and possibilities to present content in any language, promote the vision and mission of a brand, are easily accessed from anywhere in the world and have a longer lifespan than an instruction manual on paper.
The correct use and installation of car seats has been a priority in awareness and education of parents toward keeping their children safe in cars. This led Mars to think along different lines. A CBT platform was a logical decision for Mars as she has worked in this field before and knew first-hand how effective it was. Mars set out to get stakeholders to think along different lines.
“If you give an engineer, a designer and an educator a problem to solve, they will use the tools of their trade to address the issue. Designers and engineers have made huge strides in making car seats easier to install, but the issue of studying manuals has as yet not been resolved.
“The presentation was very well received and I sincerely hope that car seat manufacturers and importers will explore new ways in addressing the misuse of child restraints.”
Rowlan Lustig and Mars were the only representatives from sub-Saharan Africa and there were very few delegates from previously disadvantaged countries.
“The inequality in transporting our children safely between developed and developing countries is widening. The seating possibilities and child restraints in autonomous vehicles are already being discussed and in South Africa cars without seat belts in the back are still being used.”
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