The South African Medical Research Council recently revealed that the leading cause of child injury deaths are road traffic injuries (36%). School going children are especially at risk of road traffic injuries given that 67% of them walk to school.
In an effort to reduce child-related road accidents, Imperial Logistics launched the Be safe. Be smart road safety campaign last year on a mission to promote road safety education through the use of exciting visual aid and booklets that cover material that is relatable for younger minds.
In light of transport month this year, Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire in partnership with Imperial Logistics Be safe. Be smart road safety campaign will be handing out ‘walking safety belts’ to learners in 8 schools in the North West.
“This initiative is just one of the many CSI initiatives by Bakwena, in partnership with Imperial, within the communities along its toll routes, and we are committed to ensuring the safety of children residing along the N1/N4 routes,” said Solomon Kganyago, commercial manager at Bakwena.
The walking safety belts are in the form of reflective sashes and are aimed at teaching children about the importance of visibility and reducing accidents in hotspot area’s which run along the N1/N4 routes. Some of the schools who will be receiving the belts, include St Catherine Primary, Leokeng Primary, Kwanyape Primary, Bapo Primary, Majakaneng Primary, Seroopatha Primary, Nkukime Primary and Segwetlhane Primary.
“The signiļ¬cant impact of road carnage on the economy and society at large provides a convincing case for decisive policies and strategies to address the problem and for us as a business, this is a core pillar of Imperialās community and corporate social investment (CSI) outreach,” said Mohammed Akoojee, Imperialās Group CEO.
“Driving awareness is critical to solving the national challenge of children being killed or injured on our roads however, practical solutions such a grassroots level education areas, if not more, important. The walking safety belt is a reļ¬ective belt that the learners will wear as part of their ofļ¬cial school uniform – helping keep them visible to drivers on the road especially in low visibility situations,” he added.
Paseka Njobe, Director of School Safety for the Department of Basic Education said: “Road safety education is a challenge that cannot be achieved by government alone ā which is why we appreciate the collaborative effort from the community and private sector to help us curb this crisis.
“These 8 schools are attended by children who reside next to the N4 freeway and they will truly benefit from wearing these walking safety belts – not only to be more visible but to also to serve as a constant reminder of road safety for community members that see them wearing these. We applaud Imperial for the Be safe. Be smart road safety campaign and look forward to a long successful partnership with them,” he concluded.
