Sesame Street and Ford Deliver Bilingual Automotive Safety Campaign to Chicago
6 February 1998
Sesame Street and Ford Deliver Bilingual Automotive Safety Campaign to Chicago
CHICAGO, Feb. 6 -_ Ford Motor Company and
Children's Television Workshop (CTW) have teamed up to bring "Buckle Up with
Sesame Street," their 1998 national multi-city safety tour, to the Gads Hill
Center.
The live song and dance program is designed to teach children and parents
safe seating techniques and the importance of wearing safety belts. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 80
percent of children are improperly restrained when they ride in cars and
trucks.
"Buckle Up with Sesame Street" featuring Elmo, Rosita and Telly Monster
debuted in Chicago during Ford and Sesame Street's news conference at the
Gads Hill Center, Friday, Feb. 6. The Gads Hill Center is a Hispanic Community
Center that has served the Pilsen neighborhood since 1898. The show will be
presented to the public at the Chicago Auto Show, Saturday, Feb. 7, and
Sunday, Feb. 8.
"Buckle Up with Sesame Street" is one part of the three-year alliance
between Ford and CTW, the producers of Sesame Street, to deliver automotive
safety messages to children and parents in English and Spanish.
Following the Chicago Auto Show, the show will travel to community
centers, malls and auto shows in 13 major cities throughout the United States,
including New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
Certified nurses trained in child safety provide detailed child passenger
safety seat demonstrations after each "Buckle Up With Sesame Street"
presentation. Emergency Nurses CARE, a multifaceted organization dealing with
many aspects of injury prevention, has partnered with Ford to provide this
service.
"Buckle Up With Sesame Street" emphasizes these key safety messages:
* Always wear a safety belt while driving or riding in a car or truck.
* Children are safest properly restrained in the back seat.
* Use approved child safety seats for children weighing less than 40
pounds.
* Children between 4 and 11 years of age and weighing between 40 and 90
pounds should use a booster cushion to help position the safety belt across
the shoulder and hips.
* Rear-facing child seats always should be placed in the back seat of
vehicles or in the front seat of trucks equipped with the passenger air bag
switch in the "off" position.
* Front seats should be moved as far back as possible from air bags.
Educating parents and children will help reduce auto-related injuries and
deaths.
Facts highlighting the need for safety education are:
* Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children 5-15
years old.
* Currently, 49 children have been killed by an inflating air bag while
riding in the front seat of a vehicle. Almost all were improperly restrained.
* Child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 69 percent for
infants and 47 percent for toddlers.
* Increasing safety belt usage and having children properly restrained in
the back seat is the most effective way to save U.S. lives.
The three-year auto safety campaign is expected to reach millions of U.S.
families through print and broadcast media materials, distributed in both
English and Spanish, along with live character appearances.
The Ford Windstar was chosen to help deliver automotive safety messages
because it is equipped with more than 40 standard safety features and is the
only minivan to earn five-star federal government frontal crash-test safety
rating.
The campaign includes television advertising for the 1998 Ford Windstar
with Sesame Street characters delivering safety messages; custom published
magazines delivered to more than 2.6 million homes along with the Sesame
Street Parents magazine; a safety content area on the Sesame Street web site;
print and television public service announcements; and safety advice materials
for children and parents distributed through Ford dealerships.
The combination of Ford and Sesame Street is a natural. CTW is the
world's leader in educating and entertaining children, having reached more
than 120 million children in more than 130 countries. It is estimated that 96
percent of all American children have seen Sesame Street by age 3. Sesame
Street has a long history of celebrating cultural diversity and encouraging
young children to learn more about their heritage.
SOURCE Ford Motor Company