02/05/2022

Safe transportation to school

With the presence of authorities from the National Highway Police, the Uruguayan Pediatrics Society, the Ministry of Development and UNASEV, the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez, with the support of BlueCross & BlueShield of Uruguay, held a discussion on "Safe transportation to school". Participants included María Fernanda Rodríguez, president of Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez; Pablo Fernández, commercial and marketing manager of BlueCross & BlueShield of Uruguay; Dr. Karina Di Castro from the Legal Department of the National Road Safety Unit; Dr. Juan Morelli - pediatrician and provider of BlueCross & BlueShield of Uruguay; and Mathias Silva, training manager of Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez.

The use of Child Restraint Systems (CRS) in our country is a matter of concern due to their low use, mainly in the age group between 6 and 12 years old, reaching only 3% in their use nationwide, according to the latest Road Safety Observational Behavior Study conducted by FACTUM with the support of Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez in 2016.
According to data published by Unasev, during 2020, the number of minors between 0 and 14 years old who were injured (minor and serious) reached 1165. While we had to regret the death of 12 children.  

In the case of minors, traffic accidents are the greatest cause of death and the use of the correct CRS for children under 12 years of age is regulated at national level, since statistics indicate that they reduce up to 75% the possibilities of injuries in traffic accidents.

During the discussion, the data obtained from the "Back to School" campaign carried out by the foundation to raise awareness among adults about the so-called "school chains" were also presented. On many occasions when this type of transportation is used, more children are carried than the vehicles allow and child restraint systems are not used.

Maria José Pessano, executive director of Fundación Gonzalo Rodriguez, said "the fact that only 3% of children over 5 years old use a child restraint system challenges us as responsible adults and makes us redouble our efforts to significantly increase this number".

Pablo Fernández, commercial and marketing manager of BlueCross & BlueShield de Uruguay, said that "the issue of school chains has always concerned me personally because as a doctor I have seen the consequences of road accidents. From our position, we will continue to collaborate with the Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez to work actively for safe mobility".