Why it's so important to donate your old child car seats

Pontso Mohlotsane, Key Accounts Manager, WesBank Motor Division, hands over a brand new car seat, to Frikkie van Rensburg Managing Director of InspectaCar Morgan Motors, to kick-off the new initiative.

Pontso Mohlotsane, Key Accounts Manager, WesBank Motor Division, hands over a brand new car seat, to Frikkie van Rensburg Managing Director of InspectaCar Morgan Motors, to kick-off the new initiative.

Published Jan 21, 2019

Share

Johannesburg - According to research carried out by the American Automobile Association, safety belts and child car seats are the most effective devices in preventing serious injuries and deaths in vehicle crashes.

The research goes on to state that seat belts and car seats contact the strongest parts of the body, spread crash forces over a wide area and help the body slow down to protect the brain and spinal cord.

This information was shared by Peggie Mars, founder and managing director of Wheel Well, a non-profit organisation that advocates for Children’s Road Safety in South Africa, at the recent Women in Transport Conference.

This thought-provoking information on child safety and the importance of properly restraining a child in an appropriate seat while travelling in a vehicle resonated strongly with co-panellist, Pertunia Sibanyoni, CEO of InspectaCar.

She says: “If we consider the number of vehicle collisions that happen every day in South Africa, there is no doubt that it’s imperative for parents to ensure that their children are always strapped in correctly.”

Additional studies (by the Centre for Disease Control, according to InspectaCar spokesmen) have revealed that buckling children into age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats and the use of safety belt harnesses, reduces the risk of death to infants (aged <1 year) by 71%, to toddlers (aged 1 - 4 years) by 54% in passenger vehicles.

Booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children aged 4 - 8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.

In light of this information, InspectaCar has announced that it will be collecting, refurbishing and donating car seats to those less fortunate, as part of a CSR initiative.

“We are appealing to parents who own a child car seat that they no longer use to consider donating it to a deserving family. Our dealerships around the country will be the drop off points for the pre-owned car seats. We will then ensure that they are sent to Wheel Well for the necessary checks and refurbishment,” concludes Sibanyoni.

You can take your unwanted child seat to a nearby InspectaCar today, and help make a difference; perhaps save a life, with a simple gesture of kindness.

Drive360

Related Topics: