A hard lesson to learn

Looking at recent tragic events, Eunice Franklin is an unfortunate example to the rest of us. Nobody knows what really happened and therefore we cannot judge, but one thing is evident - nobody was buckled in safely. If Eunice had predicted the accident, I am very sure she would have done everything to protect her children... but she had no idea!

None of us know when an accident is about to happen and it's easy to live in a dream world where we believe nothing bad can happen to us. It's funny however, that when bad things do happen we tend to ask "why me?". You should actually be thinking "why not me?" You are no different from anybody else, you stand just as high a chance of being involved in an accident as Eunice did. Especially living in South Africa, because we have the highest accident rate in the world and you stand 1 in 101 chances of being involved in an accident. We need to treat every single road trip as important because nobody knows what will happen even 10 seconds from now. It only takes 25km per hour to kill a small unrestrained child.

Most parents (I would hope), would not let their children play with knives, or matches, or operate a burning hot stove, climb up an unstable high bookshelf, go near a swimming pool unattended if they can't swim or any other dangerous circumstance that we, as parents would naturally take precaution of. Why then, would a parent allow their children to roam freely in a car, hang out the windows, sit on their laps or do as they please in a motor vehicle? Your child stands a greater chance of dying in a car accident if unrestrained than they do of killing themselves in a home environment where it is safer and most parents take more precaution. Yes, motor vehicle injuries are the fourth leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability in children. Just like it's your duty to keep them away from knives and dangers in life, it is YOUR duty to keep them safe in a car. If they are injured or die in an accident, only you are to blame (regardless of who caused the accident) and it is a form of child negligence if you refuse to strap them in. They don't know any better, YOU should!

Don't wait till it's too late because you are playing with your childs life. Strap them in an age-appropriate car seat every time you travel with them. There is NO excuse!

Please stand together with us and sign our petition: http://safelaaities.co.za/car-seat-petition

 

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‘Mom was breastfeeding while driving’

September 16 2011 at 07:19am
By Yolande du Preez and Mogomotsi Magome
Source:  IOL News

A Putco bus and the Franklin family's car after the two vehicles collided on Moloto Road, leaving the family dead and 30 bus passengers injured. Photo: Masi Losi

Seven people died on the city’s roads on Thursday after two horrific accidents – a family of four were wiped out and three pedestrians were crushed by a truck.

Four people also suffered serious injuries, with one woman losing both legs in one of the accidents, and a pregnant woman taken to hospital in a critical condition.

In the first accident Mark and Eunice Franklin and their two children, one-year-old Bradley and three-year-old Miné, were killed in a head-on collision on the notorious Moloto Road early on Thursday.

Eunice is believed to have had one of the children on her lap while she was driving. Speculation is rife that she was breast-feeding at the same time.

The car collided with a packed Putco bus ferrying commuters to the city. Thirty people were treated for minor injuries while the bus driver and a woman passenger suffered serious injuries.

The woman who lost her legs in the accident was being treated in the Unitas Hospital where her condition was described as stable.

franklin family
Mark and Eunice Franklin with their two children Bradley and Min, who died in a head-on collision with a bus on the Moloto Road. Photo: Franklin Family

The Tshwane Emergency Services had to use the Jaws of Life to remove the family’s remains from the wreckage.

ER24’s Derrick Banks said both vehicles had massive damage.

The woman who lost her legs was found outside the bus, near the front windscreen.

“She had suffered severe trauma and was airlifted to the Unitas Hospital.

“The remaining 30 passengers were all treated for minor to moderate injuries and transported to various hospitals in the area for further medical care,” said Banks.

Dirk de Villiers, Eunice’s uncle, said he could not believe what had happened, having rushed to the scene after being alerted by the police.

“We have lost so many family members over the past few years and now this,” said his wife, Alta.

The accident took place nearly 25km from a Tshwane Metro Police operation in which 22 Putco buses were taken off the road for being unroadworthy.

Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesman Ashref Ismail said he was aware of speculation that the mother had been breast-feeding during the accident.

All the dead passengers in the vehicle were not wearing their seatbelts, he said.

Parents and all motorists should take responsibility for their own safety and those of their passengers when on the road, he warned.

“If you look at the accidents over the past 15 days in which about 75 people have been killed, 90 percent of them were due to human error.

“Traffic officials cannot be inside the car and monitor motorists and their passengers. That is the responsibility of motorists,” said Ismail.

Read More...

Another source/view: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Driver-was-breastfeeding-before-c...

 

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How can you help us?

Safe Laaities is a non-profit organization and therefore we rely on the public and willing companies to get involved in this worthy cause. There are several ways in which you can help support our campaign, if your business can't help with anything listed please feel free to make suggestions where you are able to help.

If you are a business:
 

Donating a prize - by donating a prize we can increase our exposure and in turn benefit both of us. The more exposure the more people we have supporting our campaign and the more business for you!

Donating advertising material and/or advertising - In order to raise awareness for our campaign we need CD/DVD's, flyers, banners, bumper stickers and baby-on-board signage printed, distributed and advertised. Your company will benefit from the exposure with your logo printed on all material.

Donate for our events - We want to put together several events to create more exposure for our campaign. We will need venues, catering & drinks, decór, cuterly & crockery, musicians, sound equipment and just about anything we can use.

Talks and Articles - we need companies who are passionate about child safety to write articles to accompany our material as well as do talks at our events.

All companies involved supporting our campaign will receive free advertising in our magazine and on our websites.

If you are an individual:


Sign our petition - We want to influence government to pass a car seat law. In order to accomplish this we need to make a stand. Sign our petition by clicking here or by clicking "petition" in the top menu. It only takes a few minutes of your time and we promise all your details will be kept private.

Join our cause on Facebook - We have created a cause on facebook and we need supporters. It costs you nothing to join but you are also free to make a donation of any amount if you wish. Click here to join our cause on Facebook.

Post a photo - Click here to post a photo of your child in a car seat. We need photos for our campaign and it's a great way to show your support.

Buy a bumper sticker - Safe Laaities has their own baby-on-board bumper sticker. To show your support purchase your very own Safe Laaities on board bumper sticker to put on your car. Contact us for more information if you are interested.

Spread the word - Without exposure we cannot run this campaign successfully. We rely on YOU to help us spread the word. Tell all your family and friends to get involved, whether they have children or not.

Whether you are a business or an individual we welcome any ideas for our campaign. If you have any suggestions please contact us and let us know!

Thank you in advance for your support. Without you this wouldn't be possible!

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