Almost a year after the start of the BIRBA (Baby and Infant on Board Risk Accident) project – implemented in collaboration with the Gaetano Martino University Hospital and the Provincial Health Authority of Messina – the largely positive results of the meetings held within the “Pre-partum” courses were analyzed and which allowed specialized traffic police operators to train over 400 parents during 15 meetings. Special locations, the training rooms of the Messina Polyclinic and the Taormina and Milazzo hospitals. The events were a unique opportunity to illustrate to participants the basic rules for transporting small passengers inside vehicles in greater safety conditions, as well as to explain the regulations relating to the approvals of child seats and their correct anchoring and arrangement. Furthermore, collateral issues such as “distracted driving”, “driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs” and the correct use of “child anti-abandonment systems” were also covered. The meetings were also moments of useful discussion for the participants who were able to learn, directly from specialized traffic police operators and healthcare personnel, the rules established by current legislation, as well as being a unique opportunity to share, with all those present, the emotions and concerns typical of those who are about to become parents.
The BIRBA project is an ambitious project that aims to spread safety through information and awareness, conveying a resounding message: protecting children everywhere means protecting them even in cars with approved, adequate and perfectly installed restraint systems. The warning of the BIRBA project is: “at home I am safe in the arms of mum and dad – in the car I am safe between the seat belts”.