Every month, Brian writes his column on road safety issues in Africa. Brian is a road safety activist, campaigner and public health peer educator give his column a candid insight into the world of youth and road safety issues in Africa. This month, Brian draws upon his experience of a public level debate on the use of reflectors in the night in Uganda, a debate that is common sense but where some place a political agenda on the subject. Read more here!

Hello once again…this year seems to be on a rock n roll marathon. Sounds like it’s being chased by Usain Bolt himself, but yes…I think it would be awesome if we had a competitor like in the movie ‘The Dictator 2012’ ‘le dictateur 2012’. If you have watched it, please do before it’s your judgment day …but, I bring you another judgment topic this time on our visibility while on the road. Now, ladies and gentlemen, what do you do before going out to a party or something? We all know that we go in front of the mirror, check out the attire we are planning to dress in. Oh, and the girls take 3+ hours preparing themselves up, so I hear…then the boys are worried about their beard style etc..Rastas (except myself) are worried about their dread locks and Turbans LOL

Now, not to be sounding like a new school course to you but seeing and being seen are fundamental prerequisites for the safety of all road users. Inadequate visibility is an important factor that influences the risk of a road crash among all types of road users: In developing countries which are heavily deployed in Africa, inadequate visibility plays an important role in at least three types of crash that I have noticed: 

• At night, vehicles that run into the rear or sides of slowly moving or stationary vehicles; I have been in a car and what I see in front is something like a torch flash, so, you think it’s like a motorcycle only to find it’s a trailer when you are a few meters away, very dangerous with limited stopping time. You will agree with me, that’s how a lot of accidents happen at night. 

• During the day, angled or head-on collisions; then, we have seen Michael-Schumacher-wannabes. Those are dudes who twist and bend their cars on the road like Michael Jackson doing the moon-walk. Weird for me to say, those drivers are aged less than 30 years,-where of course many of us fall! Their reckless driving and lack of responsibility is causing many crashes. 

• At all times, rear-end collisions often occur in poor weather conditions. In annoying weather conditions characterized by fog, smoke, darkness, fumes where our eyes can’t see far in front of the car. Even pedestrians can’t judge effectively their distance and that of the car. You have also heard about collisions being caused by animals crossing the road…

At all times, rear-end collisions often occur in poor weather conditions. In annoying weather conditions characterized by fog, smoke, darkness, fumes where our eyes can’t see far in front of the car. Even pedestrians can’t judge effectively their distance and that of the car. You have also heard about collisions being caused by animals crossing the road…

In low-income and middle-income countries, the poor visibility of pedestrians and vehicles is a serious problem, serious problem, I repeat! The mix of motorized and non-motorized traffic, together with poor street lighting (where it exists), increases the risk of unprotected road users not being seen. Non-use of low-cost interventions such as bicycle lamps or reflective equipment, reflective clothes exacerbates already unsafe conditions.

On 4th May 2012, I had a chance to facilitate at the Ministry of Works and Transport in Uganda about the use of light reflectors on motor cars, motor cycles, cyclists, pedestrians and wheel barrow pushers. The audience was representative with a blend of political leaders, civil society organizations, and victims of road crashes, motorcars, motorcycles and bicycle associations. Then of course, there were youth associations.

According to it, bicycle riders who will be found without lights and reflectors beyond 6.00pm face a fine of sh40, 000 or one month in jail or both upon conviction. Similarly, motorcycle riders and other motorists driving at night without reflectors and lights face a fine of sh500, 000 or a one-year sentence or both. While riding bicycles in the dark, (6.00pm to 6.00am), riders should have a lit lamp fitted to the front as well as a clear red light and a reflector on the rear mudguard. A reflector (white, red or yellow stripes) on the vehicle/motorcycle must be fitted to an immovable part of the vehicle and it must not be obscured in any way. The new regulations are contained in Statutory Instrument 2012 that works and Transport Minister Eng. James Byandala signed on February 13, 2012.

According to the works and Transport Ministry, the regulations are aimed at bringing down the number of rampant road collisions caused by ill-equipped vehicles on the roads. “A reflector on motor vehicles or trailers shall be fitted to ensure that during darkness, it reflects the light of another vehicle projected on it so as to be clearly visible to the driver of the vehicle”, according to guidelines from the ministry. Only vehicles that by their construction and adjustment have lamps that diffuse or direct their light as to prevent any glare and those prescribed or permitted by the ministry’s chief mechanical engineer will be exempted from bearing reflectors. The regulations also require motorists to always have a pair of triangular reflectors as emergency signs that they will be required to place on the road both in front and behind the vehicle in a distance in case of any breakdown.
 

Everything went on smoothly until; the permanent secretary to the ministry gave a chance for every representative to make their reactions. While there was around of applause from the audience, I was shocked to hear some complaints regarding procuring reflectors, whether the police will be very active in this whole process?, who would monitor the whole process?, whether this campaign will fail or not, whether the campaign is a political move…a lot of complaints really. There were also complaints about the high penalty fees…

From the presentations which looked at behavioral change, the effectiveness of reflectors and my presentation which supported the ‘Road Safety Begins With You’ principle, it looked evident that the best thing everyone would do at that time would be to accept the programme! It is typical of us to always run away from responsibility. We want to blame the government, the police, the ambulance services, the weather, the gods..eish! In a country where sixty percent of the crashes occur at night, a figure that claimed 32,000 mortalities in 2011, I see no fuss on making all road users safe! Oh, and to hell with motorists who want to politicize the regulation on baseless grounds as it is intended for the safety of all road users, we need to break the political agenda that some wish to place on safety and saving lives!

Much respects to the youth associations which even demanded an increment in the penalty fees! #Staysafe

On the 27th May 2012, Responsible Young Drivers Beligum uploaded one of their latest road safety videos, the ‘Impossible texting while driving test’. This wholly unique video has, since entering the world wide web via Youtube has received nearly half a million hits making it a real viral sensation and a captivating message that is being spread across the web with gusto.

In a conversation with our CORE Group Representative for Europe, Mr Axel Druart who works for Responsible Young Drivers Beligum, he informed us that the video held a great message but they did not expect this overwhelming response. 

The story beind the video
In order to enhance our road safety campaigns, we manage within the framework of a European road safety project called “AVENUE” (Actions for Vulnerable, Elderly, Novice Drivers and Road Users in Europe) to develop an up-to-date road safety topic based on research and polls and disseminate its results to a bigger audience. To do so, we therefore picked the “Distraction on the road” topic, based on a study organized by the European Commission in Europe, where they stated that ¼ of car crashes were involving some kind of distraction and that 2/3 of the drivers declared using their cell phones while driving. 

Statistics that were completed by a study from Road Safe (UK) stated:

Recent survey findings have revealed that 58% of 17-25 year old drivers agree that smartphone apps are causing young people to be more distracted at the wheel. This very survey of 1,000 young drivers, conducted by One Poll, has uncovered the extent of how smartphones and social media are distracting 17-25 year olds when behind the wheel. It revealed the following relevant points:

• Over 40% admitted to answering their phones while driving without a hands-free set
• 44% said they had sent a text message, and 62% said they had read a message while they were driving
• 1 in 6 male drivers under 25 has crashed due to mobile phone usage at the wheel
• One third of under 25s who use Facebook on their phone admitted to using it whilst driving
• Hands-free kits encourage 53% more young drivers to make longer calls at the wheel (longer than 5 minutes)

During an action managed by the volunteers of Responsible Young Drivers in Belgium, we received a question that made us deeply think of a possible campaign to realize. Indeed, a reveller in an action asked us why the use of mobile phone was not included in the driving licence test…

After a brainstorming with young volunteers and our young staff, we contacted a driving school in order to know if they would be interested in making a “candid camera” to show and convince youngsters that driving and texting can be extremely dangerous, by adding this exercise to the driving lessons (pretending it’s a new Belgian law).

Surprisingly, it worked extremely well. And the results is what you see on the video. There’s of course no cheating; these youngsters were real driving students and truly believed in this new Texting & driving law in driving schools. We do hope that through this video, youngsters will realize by themselves that the use of cell-phones is indeed very dangerous while driving and then understand why banning it from driving should be extremely benefiting for a safer road…

View the video now in the right column and tell us what you think!

Yesterday, at the Decade of Action Policy and Donor Forum held in New York City, Founding Member of YOURS Michelin received the prestigious and highly coveted International Road Safety Award from HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Michelin were praised for their outstanding contribution to global road safety.

“Michelin is a global leader in road safety innovation not only through its product development but also in the field of care for its own employees,” said His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, Royal Patron of The Commission for Global Road Safety, and added: “But its wider corporate commitment to community safety and international programs is an outstanding example to all businesses.”

The award is given to Michelin for the outstanding contribution they have given to global road safety. Michelin was one of the key organizations behind YOURS helping to set it up, through their belief in young people’s potential to speak to their peers and effectuate lasting impact through road safety.

As part of its corporate social responsibility commitment, Michelin constantly and actively deploys a global system designed to put a halt to the serious problem of road safety. That’s because the Group’s strategic focus on performance would be meaningless without an on-going commitment to making roads safer, everywhere, around the world. In addition to its tyres and their performance, Michelin supports measures to make driving safer, providing employees with training and promoting road safety to the general public. Addressing the challenge of road safety represents a concrete application of one of Michelin’s core values – respect for people.

Every week more than 7,000 people around the world are killed in work-related traffic accidents, including commuting to and from work. In response, Michelin has introduced internal campaigns promoting safer driving practices and more efficient travel management. Since 2009, all sales and marketing employees take part in road safety training courses. Information tools include a Road Safety awareness kit provided to all employees in countries where Michelin has manufacturing operations. In the UK, the accident rate of the Group’s car fleet has been cut by more than 50% since a comprehensive driving policy was implemented five years ago.

In addition to these internal measures, Michelin over the past 10 years has introduced a wide range of road safety programs in the countries in which it operates. While each program is adapted to the local situation, and often conducted in or with host communities, they are all designed to raise awareness about road-related dangers. Many of the programs target young people, cyclists and pedestrians, who are considered to be the most vulnerable road users.

One outstanding example is Michelin Junior Bike, an initiative that helps young people learn traffic regulations in a fun way and shows them how important it is to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. Since 1998 in Italy alone, more than 184,000 children have participated in this program, which in recent years has also been held in France and the UK and is being introduced in more and more emerging countries. Other programs include The Safest Way, which is aimed at schoolchildren and is organised in partnership with local councils in Italy and Brazil, and Fill up with Air, which educates motorists about the importance of maintaining the correct tyre pressure in order to ensure their own safety as well as that of other road users. Conducted in Europe since 2003, Fill up with Air has recently been introduced on other continents.

All of these initiatives reflect Michelin’s long term commitment, which is also expressed in engagement through road safety charters  signed at  national and European level – Michelin also supports programs launched by the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), in particular its five-year pilot projects introduced in China, the ASEAN countries, India and Brazil. 

In May 2011, Michelin was one of the first companies, to sign the Global Road Safety Commitment in support of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 launched by the United Nations. In 2012, Michelin is investing €6 million worldwide to support global road safety initiatives.

In addition to Michelin, Sweden and the Gonzalo Rodrigues Foundation also received a Prince Michael Award for Road Safety. The Mayor of New York Rt Hon. Mr Michael Bloomberg received the first Decade of Action Road Safety Award for his outstanding contribution to road safety. Read about this here.

YOURS Director, Mr Floor Lieshout commented, “On behalf of the YOURS team we would like to congratulate Michelin with winning the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. The commitment of Michelin towards road safety is outstanding and it is a well deserved prize and recognition for their work. We are proud to have such a Founding Member”.

The first annual Decade of Action for Road Policy and Donor Forum will be held today in New York City, USA. The 2012 Decade of Action Forum will be held alongside the prestigious international road safety awards presented by HRH Prince Michael of Kent who will announce the first Decade of Action for Road Safety Award organized by the Road Safety Fund in partnership with the Commission for Global Road Safety.

The Forum  will address the role of road safety and sustainable transportation in contributing to shared goals for sustainable development, particularly in the context of the forthcoming “Rio+20” UN Conference on Sustainable Development. It will also include a session examining the investment case for funding road traffic injury prevention. The meeting will hear from a range of perspectives, including high level international policymakers and academics, philanthropies, the corporate sector and NGO leaders working in the frontline of the global road injury epidemic.

The event will be held at The Pierre, New York City, on Wednesday 2nd May 2012, and will include an Awards Luncheon for the Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent GCVO, who will announce the first recipient of his prestigious annual Decade of Action Award for outstanding achievement in the field of global road traffic injury prevention. Hon. Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, will be Guest of Honour at the Luncheon.

The Donor Forum supports the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and provides an opportunity for organisations and companies that are contributing to road traffic injury prevention to exchange knowledge and experiences and build new partnerships. The invitation-only event will also enable potential new donors to learn more about this global movement working to save five million lives on the world’s roads by 2020.

The provisional agenda of the Forum can be viewed in the attachments in the right column. YOURS wll be reporting on the winner of the First Decade of Action Award tomorrow. You can also see the YOURS launch of the Decade of Road Safety video that we ran with 450 young people at the OSAID conference in Canada!