Buckle up and keep children safe-Red Cross Hospital

By Odette Ismail
24 April 2007

The Red Cross Children’s hospital say they will promote the use of seatbelts and child car safety belts due to an average of 20 children being injured in accidents every month.

Nelmarie du Toit is the Child Accident Prevention Foundation spokesperson for the hospital, which is a unit that is part of the Red Cross Hospital. She says that roughly 80% of the children who come to the hospital were not buckled up, which could have prevented most of the injuries.

Du Toit says they will use this week to campaign for motorists to buckle up children, who are especially vulnerable in motor vehicle accidents. “It only takes a few seconds to buckle up in any case, says du Toit, and as health professionals we need to set an example so that is why we are promoting this.”

She adds that drivers are overstepping the law if a child younger than 14 years old is travelling in a car equipped with safety belts and seatbelts, without being buckled up.

The hospital will go to approximately 30 to 40 schools this week to promote the importance of buckling up while driving in a car.