Nissan Research Finds Limited Booster
Seat Usage Among Ethnic Minorities
Notes
BMW Joins AYES to Deal with Shortage ot Auto
Technicians
BMW has joined the roster of automakers supporting
Automotive Youth Educational Systems (AYES) in its quest
to reduce the shortage of skilled service technicians in the
auto industry. Since AYES, a non-profit organization was
launched in' 1995, more than 2.000 students have been
placed in internships with participating dealerships, under
the guidance of qualified mentors.
Tom Purves, chairman and CEO of BMW Holding Co.,
has been named to the AYES board. “There simply are not
enough qualified service technicians to meet the demand and
the industry must take an active role in recruiting and deve -
oping young technicians at the secondary school level
Purves said.
.
.
There is an estimated shortage of 65,000 skilled automo
tive technicians nationwide.
Other AYES sponsors include General Motors, Eord, the
Chrysler Group, Toyota, Volkswagen, Audi, Honda Subaru
and'the National Automobile Dealers Association. At ES is
affiliated with more than 200 schools and nearly 2,000 deal
erships in 35 states. That number is expected to increase by
year end, with an additional 75 schools participating.
A survey of 400 African-American and 400 Latino drivers,
conducted on behalf of Nissan's “Quest For Safety," a child
safety seat program, found that parents and caregivers report
high levels of car seat awareness and usage for younger chil
dren. But they reported much lower levels of booster seat
awareness and usage for older children.
The survev revealed that about 87 percent of Black parents
are aware of’booster seats but only 16 percent use the seats
for transporting children between four to eight years of age.
About 53 percent of Black parents did not know booster seats
should be used when a child is too small for a vehicle s seat
belt, but too big for a child safety' seat.
Among Latinos, about 58 percent of parents with children
aged four to eight are aware of booster seats, but only 13 per
cent use them. About 68 percent of Latino parents who do
not use booster seats say they secure the child using both the
vehicle’s lap belt and shoulder harness.
Booster seats are meant for children who weigh between
40 to 80 pounds and have outgrown their child safety seats
but are too small to properly use the vehicle's seat belt alone.
For more details on this surrey and other vehicle safety
information, visit our Website at www.onwheelsmc.com.
Joining Forces to Educate African Americans on
the Importance of Seatbelt Safety
The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement
Executives (NOBLE), and the International Center for Injury
Prevention (ICIP) have joined forces to conduct the Nationa
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (N H IbA )
Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training Program to
NOBLE members throughout the country. Supportingt us
innovative initiative are African Americans On Wheel
(AAOW) magazine and the National Association of Minority
Automobile Dealers (NAMAD).
AAOW and NAMAD will provide a variety’ of efforts,
including car/booster seat clinics at local minority-owned
dealerships. The project also includes establishing car/boost
er seat fitting stations operated by NOBLE members and
local technicians/instructors as well as providing a limited
number of free seats to low-income families.
This initiative is an example of minority organizations
partnering in an effort to address an important health crisis
Statistically, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
death for African Americans up to 14-years-old and the sec
ond leading cause of death for African Americans aged 15 to
24 (homicide is the No. 1). A significant number of these
deaths resulted from the absence of, or improper use of child
restraint devices.
The first training sessions will be conducted in Virginia
with the assistance of the NHTSA and the Virginia
Department of Motor Vehicle.
G
Chevrolet Sponsors 27th Annual SBN Sports
Black Coliege All American Awards Weekend
C
C ' k h e v r r n o l e t
marked its 14th
consecutive year
as a major sponsor
and scholarship
provider to stu
dent athletes who
play football for
America's histori
cally Black col
leges and universi
ties. The awarding
Ronte Sm ith, regional sales manager o f General
of the Chevrolet
M otors A tla n ta (left) ami Gratnbling University
Head Coach Doug Williams (far right) present the Excellence
in
S B N Doug W illiams Offensive Player o f the Year E d u c a t i o n
A w ard to Jacquay NunnaU y o f Florida A & M .
Scholarships took
place during the
27th Annual SBN
Sports
Black
College
All-
American Awards
Banquet in March
in Atlanta.
This
year's
event honored the
2000 SBN Sports
Black College All-
Ronte Sm ith, regional sales manger o f General
American Team,
M otors A tlanta (left) and NFL H all ofFam er
Tuskegee's Golden
M e l Blount present the S B N M e l Blount Defensive
Tigers, who are the
Player o f the Year A w ard to L em a rd M a ck, o f
National
Black
Texas Southern University.
u<ww.onwheclsinc. com
African Americans On Wheels