BMW gives China's children a head start on safety

2015 BMW Children's Traffic Safety Education Program - featuring simulated driving experiences, safety education courses,"4-D" rides in a safety passenger seat and a "Train the Trainer" course - began at the China Science and Technology Museum in China's capital in July.

"We have consistently run the children's traffic safety training for more than a decade. Over the past 10 years, traffic safety education for children has grown to be one of our largest customer service relation events, with up to 370,000 children directly benefiting from it through last year," said Olaf Kastner, president& CEO, BMW Brilliance Automotive.

This year's event presents diverse and innovative training methods and platforms to enhance traffic safety awareness.

The weeklong program will move to Shanghai on Aug 13 and then travel to Chengdu, Sichuan province; Shenyang, Liaoning province; and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

At the Beijing event, children seemed to greatly enjoy the An'an joy school, magic cinema, auto plant, first aid center and junior campus programs. "An'an" derives from the word "an", which means safety in Mandarin, and the Chinese tradition of parents doubling their children's given name, like "An'an", when they call for them.

The "Train the Trainer" course trains volunteers such as parents so that they can pass down traffic safety tips to children on a regular basis.

To give less privileged children the same access to safety education, BMW will bring a 3-D safety-themed movie called An'an's Adventures.

BMW Joy Homes, a public welfare program jointly initiated by BMW and its dealers, will broadcast the film to children attending the automaker's events in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

In order to reach a wider audience, BMW has also upgraded its BMW Children's Traffic Safety Education app to benefit more children who are unable to attend the program.

Molly Yang, vice-president, public relations & corporate social responsibility at BMW Brilliance Automotive, said BMW has made greater efforts this year to make these diverse programs a reality.

"BMW staff members contributed a number of inspiring and innovative ideas to the safety program, and their willingness to help the young generation have come true with the safety education programs," she said.

One of the innovative ideas came about from a pressing need at a Beijing school. An unnamed BMW staff member said her child's kindergarten teachers asked that students' parents give a public lecture once a month. But many parents were not sure what to teach to the children.

BMW currently publishes textbooks on traffic safety standards in China that have gained the approval of the Ministry of Education.

The BMW staff member suggested that the parents use the textbook to teach at the kindergarten.