FedEx Express donates car seats to promote road safety

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), and the world’s largest express transportation company, announced a new campaign under its FedEx Cares programme on road safety for children. According to the Automobile Club of Moldova, there were 414 road crashes in 2018 where children were involved. These resulted in 20 children losing their lives and 266 being severely injured. Unfortunately, the number of children seriously traumatized by car crashes in Moldova also rose by 158% in 2018. A key cause of this is said to be the prohibitive costs of car seats for low and middle-income families.

In effort to reduce road deaths in the country and raise awareness about road safety, FedEx initiated a new campaign as part of its FedEx Cares programme, encouraging employees to donate their unneeded car seats. As a result, FedEx has donated 100 car seats to Eastern Alliance Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) who will safety test them and donate them to families most in need.

In Moldova, one of the key barriers to using an appropriate restraint or child car seat is often the cost. Good quality child car seats which meet (international) safety standards usually cost more than the average monthly wage. Therefore, many families struggle to afford them and children are often seen in cars without this important safety equipment.

Commenting on the initiative, Jon Stockton, Vice President, Ground Operations UK and Storage Fashion & Solutions at FedEx Express said, “We take road safety very seriously and were saddened to hear that children have lost their lives in road crashes due to a lack of vital safety equipment. It is important for us to raise awareness about the issue and hope our contribution helps to reduce road related child deaths in Moldova.”

Also commenting on the announcement, Emma MacLennan, Director of EASST added "EASST is a vibrant network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working across 14 countries to tackle road deaths and injuries in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. The donated child car seats will enable us to ensure safer journeys for children in Moldova. We are very grateful to FedEx staff for their generous donations and our partners are looking forward to distributing the seats to families who have requested our help to keep their children safe."

Through the company’s FedEx Cares programme, FedEx works with global non-profit organizations to help move the needle on challenges like road safety by connecting with community leaders, supporting local nonprofits and encouraging team members to play visible and meaningful roles in addressing social issues.