Thread: Madrina - Padrino teaches traffic safety to Hispanics

Madrina-Padrino teaches traffic safety to Hispanics
El Paso Times Staff
Article Launched: 06/07/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT


By Aileen B. Flores

El Paso Times

The University of Texas Health Sciences Center partnered with Thomason Hospital in El Paso to implement the new Madrina-Padrino traffic safety program for Hispanics.

"A lot of people miss the traffic rules, especially in the rural areas. This may be because they don't understand the law," said Anna Red, injury-prevention technician at Thomason Hospital.

The project is aimed at educating Hispanics, particularly new immigrants, about traffic safety norms and laws, including matters related to drinking and impaired driving, safety belt use and child passenger safety, she said.

Nationwide, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among all people ages 4 to 33. Among Hispanics, it's the leading cause for ages 1 to 44, and children ages 5 to 12 are most at risk, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

UT Health Sciences Center officials said the project would enhance the health and wellness of El Pasoans.

According to Lizette Villarreal, coordinator of the Madrina-Padrino Traffic Safety Project, El Paso was a good fit for the project because more than 80 percent of El Pasoans are Hispanic.

The program was funded by the Texas Department of Transportation to help cities along the Texas-Mexico border.

The Madrina-Padrino program is looking for agencies willing to participate in the project.


Aileen B. Flores may be reached at aflores@elpasotimes.com;546-6362.


Those Mexican family values



http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_9508009

All those things are stated in the driving manual. Atleast every driving manual I've ever read. Don't they read it? Or is this another area where they feel they don't apply to them? I know in Florida they felt they were "unfairly targeted" with the seat belt laws because they had more people than allowed in a vehicle, forget seat belts or child seats. I mean it's hard to ignore when you see a dozen kids in the back of a pick-up and a couple of the kids holding newborns.

In Mexico's case, consider the widespread corruption in government and how loosely their laws are followed. Just because a law is written, doesn't necessarily mean it is enforced. I think this is a great idea for LEGAL immigrants. They will have trouble assimilating if they don't know how we do things here.

They need to learn that our driving laws ARE enforced here and need to know what is acceptable and what is NOT acceptable. Drinking and driving are NOT acceptable, neither is driving without a license or insurance. Having sex with 10 year olds is NOT acceptable, neither is rape. Stealing ID and using fake ID is also a no-no. These actions DO have consequences and it's usually a fine and jail time. For the illegal aliens, it's jail and deportation.

THIS is what activist organizations should be spending money on. Instead they spend it on showing illegal aliens how to circumvent our immigration laws and how to scam our system.

Teach them how we do things in America, if they want to be accepted. If they are illegal, tell them to go home and try the legal way, no matter how many years it takes. Others have done it and the illegals deserve no special treatment.