Toyota’s $1 million pledge to reduce car-related deaths in Minority communities
By Colin Bertram
Toyota has pledged $1 million to support the national expansion of Buckle Up for Life, a safety program developed by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to address the extraordinarily high number of African-American and Hispanic children, teens and adults killed or injured in automobile accidents.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists automobile crashes as one of the leading causes of death within the Hispanic and African-American communities. The Center also reports that lack or improper installation of car seats and less frequent use of seat belts are significant factors.
“We created Buckle Up for Life because we were seeing a disproportionate number of African American and Hispanic children coming into the hospital with severe crash-related injuries,” says Dr. Rebeccah L. Brown, Associate Director of Trauma Services and Director of the Buckle Up for Life Program at Cincinnati Children’s.
Hispanic children are three times more likely to die in a vehicle crash than their Caucasian counterparts according to studies from the CDC and National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. These studies also lists auto crashes as the leading cause of death for African Americans under the age of 14 and second leading cause of death between the ages of 15-34. Non-seat belt use is the primary cause of accidental injury-related deaths for African American of all ages while motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics 1 to 44.
“We created Buckle Up for Life because we were seeing a disproportionate number of African American and Hispanic children coming into the hospital with severe crash-related injuries,” says Dr. Rebeccah L. Brown, Associate Director of Trauma Services and Director of the Buckle Up for Life Program at Cincinnati Children’s.
Dr. Brown, her fellow pediatric surgeons and injury prevention coordinators from Cincinnati Children’s to team with Toyota in 2004 and create the Buckle up for Life — or Abróchate a la Vida in Spanish. A multi-generational, faith-based safety initiative in 17 Hispanic churches in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, the program provides interactive vehicle safety education, free child car safety seats and car seat inspections to encourage safety habits among drivers and passengers. The program was subsequently expanded to Los Angeles in 2010.
Toyota’s further million-dollar commitment will allow the program to expand even further to areas such Chicago, Denver and San Antonio in 2011/12. Cincinnati Children’s will continue to implement the program in their area while other key U.S. cities will follow in 2013.
“Safety is a critical priority for Toyota,” says Patricia Pineda, Toyota’s Group Vice President of National Philanthropy. “Buckle Up for Life has proven to be a successful and sustainable model for meeting the pressing needs of the community, and Toyota is proud to support its expansion around the country.”
The program’s results have been substantial. For example, after participating in the Buckle Up for Life program in Greater Cincinnati, the number of Hispanic adults and children using seat belts and car seats more than doubled.