According to World Health Organization, the total number of road accidents which leads to death has ballooned to 1.25-million per year—with the highest fatality rates in low-income countries.
In the Philippines, there are total of 95,615 road accidents reported in the National Capital Region (NCR) in 2015. On this report, motorcycles has the highest number of accidents—with 20,283 casualties.
The truth is you can’t control road accidents. However, there are several factors to lessen and prevent road accidents. German Carmaker Volkswagen believes that children played a major role to road safety. Their “Child Safety Initiative” became the new forefront of road safety, which aims to develop parents knowledge and childhood safety awareness ages 4 to 8-years old.
According to Volkswagen, the “Child Safety Initiative” campaign is part of the global strategy of the German carmaker, which was launched in several countries. The CSI is based on two pillars—Teaching and educating parents and kids about possible dangers on the roads; and use of passive vehicle safety device which focus on the use of age-appropriate child safety seats.
Teach ’em while they are young
Part of the activities in promoting child safety is to teach them to be involved on the road. Volkswagen PH came out with a 50-meter junior driving course with 5 Volkswagen push cars that is designed to stimulate real-life road situations. The educational program, which composed of professional driving instructors, teaches children on the importance of road safety visuals and correct passenger and pedestrian behaviours.
Who are the partners?
Volkswagen PH partnered with road safety experts—Philippine Global Road Safety Partnership, Metro Manila Development Authority Institute of Traffic Management, and the Department of Transportation and Communication. Members of the motoring media also served as road safety instructors and “traffic assistants” at the junior driving course.
Numbers and Awards
At present, Volkswagen’s CSI campaign has total of 4,997 children and 3,975 adults participants in different VW dealers, malls, trade shows and school tours. The next CSI mall tour will be held at the UP Town Center in Diliman, Quezon City on May 21 to 22 (from 11 am to 7pm).
The “Child Safety Initiative” was awarded by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) last February for its specialized advocacy campaign.
Automobile Central Enterprise Inc is the sole importer of Volkswagen cars in the country.
