With the presence of authorities from the National Highway Police, the Uruguayan Society of Pediatrics, the Ministry of Development and UNASEV; The Gonzalo Rodríguez Foundation, carried out the discussion “The safe transfer to school”, with the support of BlueCross & BlueShield of Uruguay.
María Fernanda Rodríguez, president of the Gonzalo Rodríguez Foundation, 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 – provider pediatrician doctor of BlueCross & BlueShield of Uruguay; and Mathias Silva training manager of the
Gonzalo Rodriguez Foundation.
The use of Child Restraint Systems (SRI) in our country is a worrying issue due to its low use, mainly in the age group between 6 and 12 years old, reaching only 3% in its use at the level of the entire population. country, according to the latest Study of Observational Behavior in Road Safety carried out by FACTUM with the support of the Gonzalo Rodríguez Foundation in 2016.
According to the data published by Unasev, during the year 2020, the number of minors between 0 and 14 years old who were injured (slight and serious) reached 1,165. While we had to mourn the death of 12 children.
In the case of minors, traffic accidents are the main cause of death and the use of the correct CRS for children under 12 years of age is regulated at the national level, since statistics indicate that they reduce the chances of injury by up to 75%. in traffic accidents.
During the conversation, the data obtained with the “Back to School” campaign carried out by the foundation was also presented, to make adults aware of the so-called “school chains”. On many occasions when this type of transport is carried out, more children are carried than the vehicles allow and child restraint systems are not used.
Maria José Pessano, executive director of the Gonzalo Rodriguez Foundation, expressed “the fact that only 3% of children over 5 years of age use a child restraint system challenges us as responsible adults and makes us redouble our efforts to be able to significantly increase that number”.
For his part, Pablo Fernández, commercial and marketing manager of BlueCross & BlueShield in Uruguay, assured that “the issue of school chains has always worried me personally because as a doctor I have seen what road accidents generate. From our place we will continue collaborating with the Gonzalo Rodríguez Foundation to actively work for safe mobility”.
