Let's save lives

Wearing a seat belt takes only a few seconds but it is this simple action that keeps countless lives safe on the road.

SITTING in a circle around the Road Safety Mat, the children of Smart Reader Kids Desa Petaling stared as teacher Senthamil Chelvi placed a small teddy bear on a little Lego car.

“Let’s see what happens to Teddy when the car moves,” she says, pushing the Lego car forward on the mat.

The car propels forward but as it comes to a stop, the teddy bear is thrown forward as a result of the momentum, causing the children to break out into exclamations of “poor Teddy” and “it must be painful!”.

Picking up the bear, Chelvi repeats the demonstration but with a plaster fixed over the bear’s shoulders like a seat belt.

Once “buckled”, Teddy stayed securely fastened to the Lego car when it was pushed and stopped, thus proving the function of seat belts as a life-saving device.

“So what must you do when you sit in the car?” she asks, to which the children chorus “Wear the seat belt!”

Teddy knows best: The youngsters learn that the teddy bear stays secure when wearing a seat belt.

“Children must always travel in the back seat,” Chelvi continues, “because the front seats are usually the ones that get hit during an accident. Besides, your body is still small and the seat belt at the front seat may not fit you well. Remember, you must still wear your seat belt although you are sitting at the rear seat.”

To reinforce the message, the children wore white gloves as they sang the Toyota Traffic Tots “Wear the seat belt” song.

“The movement of the gloved hands are meant to give added impact to the message and help them remember better,” explains Chelvi.

Watching from the side were representatives from UMW Toyota Motor, who smiled in satisfaction as they watched the children enjoying the educational session on road safety.

“From experience, we know that many parents face problems getting their children to wear their seat belts. We hope that these lessons will make them realise why it is important to stay buckled because it can save their lives in the event of crashes or during emergency braking,” says programme coordinator and Toyota Traffic Tots programme supervisor Siti Mariam Daud.

Most parents tend to use scare tactics, telling the children that they will be arrested by the policeman or be fined if they are caught not wearing their seat belts.

These gimmicks no longer work among today’s IT-savvy children, notes Siti Mariam.

Just wave: Children swinging their hands excitedly as they sing the seat belt song.

“Children today are exposed to various aspects of life and are more receptive to ideas and explanations. They are more inclined to follow instructions when they know the rationale behind them,” she explains.

Road safety has been a key corporate social responsibility pillar of UMW Toyota Motor for the last 12 years. This year saw the launch of the Toyota Traffic Tots, a three-year road safety programme targeted at pre-school children to empower them with road safety knowledge.

“Being a responsible car manufacturer, we want to extend ourselves beyond selling cars. By training pre-school children about road safety features from a young age, the programme aims to build a future generation of safer drivers and road users,” says Siti Mariam.

As a pilot project, the programme is being implemented in 10 Smart Reader centres this year with plans to extend to other pre-school centres next year, and Sabah and Sarawak in 2014.

Seat belts are an important feature in all vehicles with certain car models being equipped with a seat belt alarm that goes off when any passenger does not buckle up. However, the alarm only acts as an external reminder.

What matters more is that every driver and passenger makes a habit out of seat belt wearing for their own safety and not out of fear of traffic fines or to stop the seat belt alarm from sounding.

■ This message is part of a fortnightly road safety series for pre-schoolers brought to you by the Toyota Traffic Tots programme.