01/10/2018

Safe transfer of children by car in Rivera

On Wednesday, September 26th, the Training Coordinator of the Gonzalo Rodríguez Foundation, Mathías Silva, offered training in Child Passenger Safety to inspectors, transit police, community police, highway patrol officers and inspectors from the Livramento Prefecture, as well as other "living forces" of the department such as the Red Cross, Rotary, the State Insurance Bank, the president of the Departmental Board and the Transit Commission, teachers and the general public.

On Thursday, September 27th from 10 am to 1.30 pm, a checkpoint was held with the State Insurance Bank and the Rivera City Hall, inviting adults responsible for transporting children in cars to come to Plaza Artigas to receive advice on the correct placement of child restraint systems.

Despite this law, in Rivera only 15% of children under 12 are transferred in Child Restraint Systems by the adults responsible for doing so. This data is from the UNASEV 2016 Observational Study.

Child Restraint Systems (CRS) are the adequate protection for children when they travel in a vehicle. Their use reduces injuries by 75% in the event of an accident and prevents the child from being thrown out, as well as avoiding impact against other occupants and elements of the vehicle.

Newborn children -and up to 1.5 meters of height- must travel in a retention system according to their weight and height that protects the different stages of their growth as established by Law 19,061 approved in April 2013.

Through this Checkpoint, the Gonzalo Rodríguez Foundation, the Rivera City Council and the State Insurance Bank seek to increase the use of child restraint systems and promote a cultural change in the safe transfer of children in the department.