Volkswagen is partnering the Association of Registered Childcare Providers Malaysia (ARCPM) or Persatuan Pengasuh Berdaftar Malaysia (PPBM) to roll out a child passenger safety (CPS) training module across 280 childcare centres nationwide. The trainings aim to ensure an extended reach of child safety in cars to Malaysians at large.
At the Child Passenger Safety workshop organised for media and Volkswagen staff today, Puan Sharifah Salmah Syed Harun, Director of Human Resource, Volkswagen Malaysia shared, “Many parents thought the safest way to carry a baby is in their arms and it is not unusual to see toddlers riding on adults’ lap. We believe it is of utmost importance to educate people about the seriousness of this issue. Our goal is to change mind-sets and help parents take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of their children in cars.”
In Malaysia alone, more than 400,000 road accidents were recorded in 2012 and children are not spared from this shocking figure. According to the 2011 MIROS Report, children are the first and the second leading groups of casualties with aged 1–4 years old at 43.8% and 5–9 years old at 30.2% respectively.
“We strongly believe that this training module will inspire, mobilise and strengthen prevention measures and engage childcare centres as agents of change in their respective communities. This training will also empower and facilitate the childcare centre personnel’s role in creating safety consciousness and uphold child protection,” Sharifah added.
Through this campaign, the CPS trainers from PPBM’s network will train other operators of childcare centres to educate approximately 28,000 parents on the importance of using proper child car seats to curb injuries and losses.
Aside from the roll out of the CPS training module, Volkswagen Malaysia will also donate 200 Volkswagen child safety seats and 10,000 copies of the A-Z of road safety flash cards to PPBM to further support the ongoing effort in education and raising awareness on this issue.
