For the first time, the Safe Kids Worldwide (SKW) Child safety passenger certification programme was offered to FIA Clubs’ road safety experts from all corners of Latin America. Representatives of 12 Latin American Clubs were also joined by representatives of FIA Region IV and FIA Mobility for an intensive week of road safety training.

Automobile Club delegates from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, as well as representatives from the city authorities of Buenos Aires and the National Traffic Agency of Mexico attended a specific programme throughout the week designed by SKW on how to properly use child restraint systems (CRS).

Andrew McKellar, FIA Secretary-General for Automobile Mobility and Tourism reasserted the FIA’s support of Safe Kids Worldwide’s training programme: “The FIA firmly believes that cooperation and partnerships can make a real difference in promoting effective road safety intervention: Safe Kids Worldwide’s experience will strengthen the action of our Clubs in local communities and will help save children's lives”.

The training enables participants to become child safety technicians and consequently share knowledge among local road users and transport authorities.

During the course, participants took part in a variety of activities that helped them gain comprehensive knowledge on the use, installation and exploitation of CRS.

The course included one-on-one training, group presentations and practical demonstrations with the use of various child seats and dummies. Participants got a unique chance to share their experience with colleagues and learn about their success stories.

This training initiative is meant to complement the objectives of the FIA Child Safety in Cars Toolkit, developed to promote FIA Clubs' advocacy actions targeting the enforcement of child restraint laws. One of the main objectives of this regional event is to enhance Clubs’ technical capacity and help them disseminate knowledge and education among their respective networks.

Background information:

• About SKW

Safe Kids Worldwide is a global organisation dedicated to preventing child injury risks and is the certifying body in charge of all aspects of this programme. The organisation works closely with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (responsible for the content of the curriculum). In the US alone, SKW has established a network of over 39,000 nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST). Following the decision of the FIA World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism in November 2016, SKW was awarded the FIA Associate Member status. Building on its existing partnership with the organisation, the FIA will continue working with SKW in an attempt to build Clubs’ child passenger safety capacity.

• About FIA Toolkit pilot projects

In the framework of the FIA Child Safety in Cars Toolkit pilot programme, the FIA is supporting a series of regional training sessions to bring national road safety experts together and strengthen their technical knowledge of CRS systems. The FIA Region IV training is based on similar sessions previously organised for Eastern European Clubs in Belarus, and ACTAC Member Clubs in Austria in November 2016. This regional approach aims to support Clubs in their efforts to advocate for behavioural and legislative changes.