Seat Safety – a blog for for the parents

Hello dear readers!

As you know, my blog includes anything that is of interest to me. So being involved in South African Motorsport and having a passion for 4 wheels I was recently informed by the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists on something rather disturbing – something I had to share with you, especially if you are parents!

Wheel Well, a NPO doing amazing work in road safety shared the following with us. All parents want to protect their children as best they can. When it comes to child car safety, the correct child car seat can seem rather expensive and some parents may be tempted to choose a cheaper alternative. This had led to thousands of unsuspecting parents across the globe purchasing inexpensive “portable” car seat harnesses online.

These “cheaper” options offer parents a false sense of security and do not
help to prevent injury or death. Wheel Well are anxious to inform parents of the hazards of using this kind of device instead of a proper child car seat which conforms to EU regulations.

Authorities in the United Kingdom have conducted crash tests on cheaply made and untested “portable” car seat harnesses and the results are sobering. These cheap imported seats were shown to disintegrate at a low-speed collision of under 60kph,
propelling a crash test dummy into the front of the vehicle.

To put this in perspective, a normal child car seat is tested to survive impacts at speeds in excess of 100kph. With the huge forces involved in a car crash, parents must ensure they purchase car seats that adhere to current and tested regulations and standards.

In South Africa, we adhere to European standards and the car seat must feature an orange European Economic Commission stamp of approval sticker. Parents need to be aware that any defects and shortcomings of a car seat will become apparent during a crash … and that will be far too late!

Prevent a lifetime of regret and make sure you buy the correct and legal seat for your child. If you cannot afford a correctly certified car seat new, rather be in contact with Wheel Well on peggie@wheelwell.co.za

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2757724/Crash-test-revealshorror-moment-deadly-child-car-seat-disintegrates-impact-just-30mphthrowing-dummy-vehicle-safety-watchdogs-warn-thousands-soldonline-world.html

Please consider donating your old car seats to Wheel Well and if you have a car seat but are unsure if it meets the requirements, contact Peggie and get peace of mind. Do feel free to share this with other parents out there – spread safety!

Until next time, in the spirit of children and road safety, drive as if every child on the street were your own…

Nadia xo xo

Add hope 🙏🏼

Magic Johnson once said “All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them”. From his mouth to the ears of the incredible souls at KFC…
KFC’s Add Hope – now in its seventh year – has found a powerful way to unite staff and customers in the fight against hunger. Add Hope partners with over 110 beneficiary organisations to feed over 110 000 children every day across the country, helping them learn, grow and thrive.

With World Hunger Month having kicked off in October, Add Hope continues to shine a spotlight on hunger issues in South Africa and the beneficiaries it supports.

In the second leg of their World Hunger Month roadshow, Add Hope visited Home of Hope in Tableview, Cape Town with local media and KFC team members from surrounding stores. We began the day with an introduction from resident social worker, Bianca Breytenbach on the home and the kind of children they support.

Home of Hope specialises in supporting children who have been affected by Fetal Alchohol Syndrome (FAS), a condition developed by a mother consuming alcohol during pregnancy which results in various disorders.

Home of Hope houses children ranging from new-borns to 18 year olds, who are fed three nutritious meals and two snacks daily at their Table View home. Guests were then entertained by beautiful singing and dancing from the children and were then shown a tour of the grounds where they were able to see where the children live, sleep, learn and play.

As a patron of KFC this is just one example of physically seeing where your R2 donation goes to. The Add Hope initiative provides us all with opportunity to be able to make a real difference in the lives of children across South Africa.

What a heartwarming feeling knowing you’ve given hope and so much more to someone less fortunate that yourself  – Kudos to KFC & Add Hope.

To find out more, visit Add Hope #AddHope and visit Home of Hope if you’d like to assist further.
Until next time remember that together we can save lives & Add Hope.

Nadia xo xo

Credits – Plato Communications

Tamryn Sher