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Fix Auto Introduces Child Safety Program

16 March 2000

Fix Auto Introduces Child Safety Program

    ANAHEIM HILLS, Calif.--March 15, 2000--Over the last couple of years, a tremendous effort has been made to educate parents about the risks of injury and death to children from air bags and the improper use of child safety restraint systems.
    According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 20,000 injuries to children could be prevented annually with the proper use of child restraints. Although deaths and injuries have been reduced, a recent study conducted by the Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign shows that awareness of the dangers has declined in recent months.
    Fix Auto, a unique network of auto body repair shops located in Orange and Los Angeles Counties and the Inland Empire, wanted to do something to raise the level of awareness of child safety in vehicles. The company believes that it is not enough just to educate the parents and so it has created a program aimed directly at kindergarten and elementary school children called "Fix for a Kid."
    "Fix for a Kid" is a 45-minute program conducted in the school classroom by a trained expert in air bags and restraint systems. Together with the entertaining Mr. Fix mascot, the safety expert takes the children through the importance of following car safety rules such as how to properly wear a seat belt and which part of the car is the best place to sit if they are under 12 years of age. At one point, a real air bag is deployed to help the children understand just how powerful these safety devices are.
    During the course of this free program, promotional give-aways and materials are handed out and there is a drawing for a Mr. Fix Doll backpack. The children are also given a list of 10 True/False statements for them to take home and answer. Once completed, the children can take them to a local Fix Auto location to receive a free Fix Auto backpack.

    The next "Fix for a Kid" safety programs will be held:

    Date:  Monday, March 20, 2000
    Time:  9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
    Where: Orrenmaa Elementary School,
           3350 Fillmore,
           Riverside, Calif.

    Date:  Friday, March 24, 2000
    Time:  10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
    Where: Travis Ranch School,
           5500 Via de la Escuela
           Yorba Linda, Calif.

    Although the number of parents who are following the safety rules has increased, there is still more work to be done. Crashes remain the leading cause of death to children. In 1998, six out of ten children who died in crashes were unrestrained. It's the goal of the folks at Fix Auto to change those numbers for the better.
    For more information on how to bring the "Fix for a Kid" safety program to a school in Southern California, contact Brygitte Lupien, Fix Auto USA, at 714/282-2414.