Ford drives child safety education program

Melbourne, Australia - Ford Motor Company has joined with Kidsafe (The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia) and the manufacturer of Safe-n-Sound child restraint products to produce a satellite-based educational program dealing with child safety in motor vehicles.

The first stage of the program kicked off this when Ford dealers around the country attended an interactive training program on child car safety conducted via satellite from Ford Australia headquarters in Campbellfield, Victoria.

Ford dealers will now invite local community groups, childcare centres, kindergartens and play groups to attend a child safety briefing at their local dealership.

Ford Service Engineering Manager, John O’Reilly, said the initiative was aimed at educating drivers about the proper methods of child restraint in motor vehicles.

"This program allows Ford to put something back into the community by lending our expertise - and that of our suppliers - to a worthy cause," Mr O’Reilly said.

Fordstar is a unique training network that uses satellite technology to provide live, interactive broadcasting between Ford and dealership staff.

Mr O’Reilly said the response of dealers to the initiative had been very positive, with more than 100 outlets tuning in to the satellite broadcast.

The child care sessions were also attended by hospital workers, child restraint fitters and child care representatives.