In December 2011, YOURS attended the 3rd Edition of the Muscat Youth Summit (MYS) which took place on the beautiful resort of Mussanah in Muscat, Oman. The summit was an energetic and forward thinking event that brought young people together from around the world to tackle issues facing young people in a modern world.

Launched in 2009 by the Brand Oman Management Unit(BOMU), The Muscat Youth Summit (MYS) 2011 attracted over 200 participants aged 15 to 24 from 23 countries. MYS is an innovative and international four-day residential initiative that aims to enhance young people’s experiences and perceptions of culture, innovation and enterprise by cultivating skills based learning.

Indeed, in today’s environment, enterprise is about improving our ability to compete and succeed in an ever changing global economy; therefore, it is vital for education and business to work together to ensure that young people are prepared for life and work with the necessary skills, attitudes, experience and motivation to richly contribute. This is exactly what MYS strives to achieve. MYS is also part of Oman’s contribution to the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations – a contribution that we are deeply proud of.

The YOURS Team travelled to Oman to deliver a session on the Global Road Safety Crisis facing young people. As a workshop that took place alongside global issues of sustainable development, digital participation and arts expression, many of the participants attending the workshop admitted that they did not realise the magnitude of the the important of road safety on a global level.

His Royal Highness Faisal bin Turki Al Said expressed, ‘I am confident MYS 2011 gave participants the skills, knowledge, support andencouragement to empower them to go on and do brilliant things, with the ultimate aim of improving lives and communities. We wish you all every success in the future. (Brand Oman Management Unit)

On page 15 of the Muscart Youth Summit Report there is a summary of the workshop run by YOURS:  At a time when the world is facing many problems such as hunger, poverty, natural disasters and wars, why focus on road safety? Are there not more important
things to work towards? How is road safety a global humanitarian crisis and why does it deserve our attention now?

Young people under the age of 25 years are the main victims of road crashes worldwide. More young people die from road crashes than from HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis or cancer. This means that road safety is a serious threat to youth no matter where they are. Workshop participants spent much of the day discussing questions that included:

Getting involved: Where to start
Youth around the world are taking the lead on exciting and innovative road safety initiatives. How can you get
involved? Where do you start? What are existing opportunities you can seize? What are the challenges and how can you overcome them?

Advocating for Road Safety
What do you want others to know about road safety? How can your message reach different audiences, friends,
parents, governments and community organizations? What tools and media are available? What else can you use?

Workshop Deliverables  Participants were encouraged to use the knowledge, skills and tools they gained in previous MYS workshops to create road safety messages using different media. The workshop produced a range of powerful film clips encouraging young people to take road safety issues seriously. The film clips will be displayed at an MYS mobile exhibition beginning Q2 2012.

The report, film clips and photo gallery from YOURS’ workshop at the MYS are available to view in the right column!

In this edition of Brian’s Column, we are given an insight into how the city of Johannesburg in South Africa has implemented strong road safety measures to dramatically reduce road fatalities. His insight illustrates how when coupled with good enforcement and road infrastructure, road laws can save lives as they do in South Africa.

‘Hello there, my name is Johannesburg. Contrary to what people think about me thanks to the fact that I am South of the African continent, I am, without needing to give a lot of explanations, living in a class of my own because My Safety Is Your Safety!’ That is exactly how I feel I should address myself every time I am in this town.

For those that don’t know Bridgestone, The Road Safety Foundation, the Automobile Association (AA) and some 100 children from the Van Reenen Primary school were all present to encourage road users to ‘Think Kidz’ at every step of the way on their journey to a safe and fun holiday to the South Africa’s coasts. Considering that, a child is killed or injured every ten minutes on South Africa roads, a dangerous statistic by UNICEF and even more disheartening is that we are talking about human life, not just statistics!

They (the leaders of Johannesburg) have not only focussed on the youths! Interestingly, they have designed and implemented a community focussed safety programme which I caught up by chance on Television. In this programme, they are not only patrolling streets outside Johannesburg but also doing a 1 on 1 education and warnings to road users as regards road safety! Isn’t that cute? The coordinator for community safety programme Faith Mazibuko chatted to a motorist (so I overheard) “Don’t worry, we are not from [the television programme] Cheaters, but we are here to tell you something that will not just save your life but the life of Africa”

If you weren’t catching the local Johannesburg TV channel, this was all part of the Road Safety Easter Campaign, which kicked off at the interchange on Thursday, 14 April. Several cars were stopped and searched in a joint operation by the Gauteng Traffic Police (GTP), the Johannesburg metropolitan police department (JMPD) and the South African Police Service (SAPS). It was interesting (as usual) to see troubled, eye brow raised drivers with pending tickets pay their fines at a mobile station that had been set up at the interchange and in presence of TV cameras.

Talking about political will in road safety, it was soooooo motivating to see the member of the Lesedi Local Municipality mayoral committee for safety and security, Ald Koos Jonck; and the member of the Emfuleni Municipality mayoral committee for public safety, Nomvula Thulo, interacting with motorists, encouraging them to drive safely. Now, this is not a time for elections yet, because in many African states, it’s common to only see your leaders appearing in your villages or towns only during election campaigns. Clearly, Johannesburg leaders aren’t playing the cat-showing-off tricks.

I will not fail to note this simple but well proven safety tip! Cars are checked for road-worthiness while on Johannesburg streets without warning the driver. This follows the evaluation of the previous road safety campaign that led the province to achieve a 60% reduction in road crashes and fatalities. I would be surprised if Somalia, Egypt and Ethiopia started doing checks for camels before hitting the road! Wooooo!!

Through the GTP, SAPS and JMPD as well as Sedibeng, Metsweding and West Rand District traffic departments, the district road safety department implements a law enforcement plan to ensure smooth traffic flows and compliance with traffic laws and public safety in general. We have heard about these laws..haven’t we? But what makes Joburg (so its called) special is that you can expect NO MERCY when caught by these implementing road safety bodies! They are strict and professional starting from the minute you get into their Airport Cab, there is a driver who will tell you..’I don’t want to be imprisoned, please put your seat belt on’!

And then, there was (still is) this other activity which worries the local man in all African communities: deploying those police patrol cars! But these were (are) put to enhance visible policing with roadblocks and check points not only focusing on vehicle and driver fitness, but also on vehicle searches. Good morning thieves, criminals and drug dealers, you are busted in this campaign because these operations will not be confined to highways only. Provincial and municipal routes are also targeted.

Here is a rather new approach that the Johannesburg leaders are implementing as regards pedestrian safety: Jay walking: The law enforcement agencies deal decisively with people found jay walking on major highways. Since instances of jay walking continue to climb and you can imagine the ability to root out the practice is crucial to achieving even bigger reductions in fatalities. Pedestrian fatalities continued to account for a significant proportion of statistics in the province of Johannesburg and Africa in general.

The City will invest more than R100-billion in infrastructure development and upgrading in the next 10 years according to the Executive Mayor Parks Tau who made this announcement in his maiden state of the city address, tabled in Braamfontein on Thursday, 22 March. Tau was giving an account of the progress made in the City in the past year and charting the way forward. Now, while the rest of us sit and look on with admiration about how Johannesburg has tried to reduce avoidable mortalities on the roads, putting all these systems in place, it remains our responsibility to be safe on the road. In fact, while I was having my driving lessons (which I started recently < don’t ask me what I mean by ‘recently’), my instructor told me to always assume that all the road users are drunk…and I am the only sober road safety superman…by that, we become more accountable to ourselves. Oh…and did i say, I Love Johannesburg? I will ask her to marry me and go and change all Africa’s cities hahaha #Staysafe

In 2007 the Royal Automobile Club Queensland, Australia idenfiied the need for road safety education where there was a gap for younger students of school age in Queensland. The Road Safety Education Team was created to develop and devilver road safety program for school studens and older drivers. 

The flagship program of the team is the Streets Ahead Program, delivered to nearly 20 000 young people a year since its inception.

About RACQ
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland – the RACQ – was formed in 1905. Today it is the State’s peak motoring organisation, representing the interests of almost 1.2 million members.

The Club provides a wide range of motoring, travel and other services and benefits – ranging from 24-hour roadside assistance and car and home insurance to shopping discounts and finance – to members and their families.

The Road Safety Education Team at RACQ has evolved over the years and is now known as the Education Team, sitting within the broader department of Community and Education. We now deliver and sponsor road safety programs that cover the full spectrum of road use, from early primary school, through to late high school and older drivers. Our aim is to contribute to the reduction of injuries and fatalities on Queensland roads by providing relevant, age appropriate and effective road safety education. 

Example of activities

The RACQ’s Streets Ahead program is a road safety education program for Queensland primary schools. The Streets Ahead program comprises four level-appropriate presentations covering road safety themes including passenger, pedestrian and bicycle safety. The program offers a fresh, interactive and effective approach to road safety education.

Crossing Capers Level 1 (Prep and Year 1)
Students can learn how to identify and use a variety of pedestrian crossings safely. They can experience and practise the correct ways to cross busy roads in the safety and comfort of their own classroom using the specially designed RACQ road mat.

Students will discover what the ‘safety door’ is and why it is important. They can also investigate what makes a safe and smart passenger.

Safety Smart Level 2 (Year 2 and 3)
Students cover all aspects of road safety in this fast-paced interactive presentation. They can learn and remember how to cross roads safely, be a safe passenger and identify what to wear when riding a bike.Students will role-play correct behaviours, experiment with helmets and seatbelts, and participate in plenty of discussions.

Bike Wise Level 3 (Year 4 and 5)
It’s time students to learn how to be safe cyclists. Students will investigate and discover what elements are needed to make a safe cyclist…clothing, equipment, behaviour, road rules?

Students will also experiment with Crunch to identify the effects of wearing and not wearing a seatbelt, as well as learn the causes and dangers of distraction.

Play It Safe Level 4 (Year 6 and 7)
Roll-up, roll-up…and join in the fun of the ‘Who Wants to be Safety Smart?’ game show. Students will review their knowledge of pedestrian, passenger and cyclist safety through three rounds of interactive questions and experiments.

With Crunch’s help, students will strengthen their knowledge of road safety, identify possible bad habits and ways to avoid them, and revise essential road safety concepts.

Our reason for focusing on young people
The traffic environment around schools is one of the most complex traffic environments regularly encountered by children. Young people are not always equipped with the skills to deal with environments like these, which increases the risk of road crash incidents. At RACQ we believe that the safety of students travelling to and from school is one of the most important issues for school communities.

Schools play an important role in developing responsible attitudes and hazard appreciation skills in children towards the use of the road and traffic environment as pedestrians, cyclists, car passengers and in the latter stages of school as drivers. However, it is important that parents and the community also share this role.

In 2007 the Royal Automobile Club Queensland, Australia idenfiied the need for road safety education where there was a gap for younger students of school age in Queensland. The Road Safety Education Team was created to develop and devilver road safety program for school studens and older drivers.

We are very excited to share the news that YOURS has been awarded a grant from the Road Safety Fund to run a ‘Training of Trainers’ program with young people in Kenya. The program will run as part of our key strategic pillar of Capacity Development which seeks to support existing efforts to improve road safety in Kenya by engaging with young leaders to promote safer road use.

The Road Safety Fund has awarded grants through its 2012 Small Grants Programme to non-governmental organisations working across a diverse range of road injury prevention programmes.

The Small Grants Programme is supported through major donations from insurance company Allianz and technology company Bosch, both Global Supporters of the Decade of Action, as well as a number of other companies.  Projects were prioritised that could demonstrate potential for sustainable capacity development and a catalysing effect on national policies and the wider implementation of road safety. 

The project falls under YOURS’ capacity development strategic pillar of activity and the Road User Pillar in the Decade of Action Plan.

The two main objectives of this project are to:

1. Improve understanding of young people of road safety and the risks they face on the roads (especially of key risk factors)
2. Promote and increase the involvement of young people in road safety efforts in Kenya

YOURS will work closely with local stakeholders and partners active in Kenya to identify 15-20 young individuals between 18-29 to train as facilitators of road safety workshops for young people. With the support of YOURS secretariat, the Regional Coordinator for Africa based in Kenya, and other partners, the newly trained facilitators will then organize and facilitate at least 10 road safety workshops for young people using the Youth and Road Safety Action Kit produced by YOURS.

These workshops can be conducted in schools, universities, community centres or any other setting. At the end of each workshop, participants will create and commit to their personal action plans: how will they use the information they gained? YOURS’ team will coordinate with the facilitators, follow up, and provide support as needed to ensure that the workshops are carried out according to plan.

Other important initiatives awarded the Road Safety Fund grants include:

• A motorcycle helmet safety awareness initiative in Niger, building on a recent toughening of the country’s Road Code, led by NGO Ong Fondei Ma Bori in partnership with UNICEF; 
• Training courses: a safe urban transport planning course run by IRTE’s College of Traffic Management in India and a postgraduate course for road safety professionals in low and middle income countries run by Delft University; 
• Training in post crash trauma care for first responders in Uganda, managed by the Injury Control Centre Uganda. 
• Development of a hospital-based injury surveillance network, coordinated by the Indonesian Ministry of Health;  
• A training initiative for manufacturers, medical practitioners and road safety campaigners in Argentina, Chile and Paraguay run by Fundación Gonzalo Rodríguez, building on their successful campaign to improve both parental awareness and child seat safety standards in Uruguay.

Everybody at YOURS is very excited to implement this project in Kenya which will compliment the launch of our Youth and Road Safety Action Kit which is being launched officially and the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration meeting in Washington DC next month (April 2012)
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Director of YOURS, Mr Floor Lieshout said, ‘This is another grreat opportunity for the YOURS Capacity Development Program to build the skills of young people on the ground to not only be safer on the road but also to pass the message of road safety on to their peers in an effective way. I thank the Road Safety Fund and its sponsors for supporting our work, together we can save many young lives’.

The Road Safety Fund recently supported YOURS in the training of our new CORE Group which creates a ripple of activity around the world in youth and road safety under the efforts of our Coordinators of the Regions.

After almost half a decade since the United Nations World Youth Assembly for Road Safety, the youth movement for road safety has grown and is stronger than ever. In our last feature, we saw that the YOURS Staff team were all delegates to the WYA and have since dedicated their efforts to the youth and road safety cause. In part 5 of our WYA special feature, we take a look at the members of the CORE Group who attended the assembly.

Over 400 young people came together on the foot of the Swiss Alps in April 2007 to discuss global road safety in a changing world. With over 100 countries represented at the United Nations HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, the youth empowering United Nations World Youth Assembly for Road Safety Changed many young lives. Youth delegates left the assembly as United Nations World Youth Ambassadors for Road Safety, we look at where they are now…

As a special feature celebrating 5 years since the first United Nations World Youth Assembly for Road Safety that took place in April 2007 at the United Nations HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, YOURS is putting special spotlights on the the United Nations World Youth Ambassadors for Road Safety! You can read all about the feature and the World Youth Assembly here.

More than 400 young people left the assembly as youth ambassadors having undergone pledges to make young people in their nations safer on the roads through campaigning and road safety work. YOURS will be featuring two ambassadors at a time and today our feature is on our delegates from Canada and Brazil. See what they are doing now and how the assembly impacted them!

In 2010, Gary Swainston hit a pedestrian using a zebra crossing with fatal consequences. The motorist was jailed for 16 months for careless driving and while behind bars, Mr Swainston, under the burden of his actions urged a letter to be written to his local authorities pleading for a safer system to prevent this happening to other people in the future.

There is no question beind the tragedy, loss and heatbreak that comes with a fatal road collision. Gary Swainston told police he did not see 59-year-old Malcolm Curnow crossing the road before he hit him, causing fatal injuries.The father-of-two was jailed for 16 months at Durham Crown Court in July, after he admitted causing Mr Curnow’s death by careless driving.

But while in jail the 45-year-old wrote to his wife, Susan, urging her to contact Durham County Council and MP Pat Glass on his behalf to improve road safety between the Tesco store and a primary school in Annfield Plain, near Stanley.

Mr Swainston, a heavy plant operator, said: “It had to be upgraded because what happened was in the dark and could have happened to anyone. I am pleased something is being done because, hopefully, it will stop anything like this happening again.”

Work is now underway to create a puffin crossing at the site, which has sensors to detect the presence of pedestrians waiting, and as they are crossing the roadDurham County Councillor Joan Nicholson, who represents the Annfield Plain division, said the authority had already been looking at ways to improve road safety at the site for several years, but the fatal accident, and Swainston’s letter, had helped move the process forward.

Durham County Councillor Joan Nicholson, who represents the Annfield Plain division, said the authority had already been looking at ways to improve road safety at the site for several years, but the fatal accident, and Swainston’s letter, had helped move the process forward.

“There were a number of issues with that road and the county has looked at a number of different options for quite a while now, but wanted to get the best one, which would give us the result we needed. The whole thing though has been a sad affair.”

The incident happened on November 3, 2010, and Swainston, of Queensway, Shotley Bridge, Consett, was jailed by Judge Christopher Prince at Durham Crown Court in September. He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to take an extended driving test before being allowed back on the road. But three months into his sentence he was released by judges sitting at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, who said his original sentence was ‘too long’.

Judge Charles Wide QC replaced Swainston’s jail term with a ten-month suspended sentence and ordered him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work in the community. Swainston said: “I was driving in the correct manner but I simply did not see the man.”

Mr Curnow, who was disabled, was making his way across Station Road slowly, just before 5.30pm when it was dark. Other cars had stopped to let Mr Curnow cross, but Swainston carried straight on in his VW Passat without slowing down and hit him at just under 30mph. Mr Curnow, of Castle Court, Annfield Plain, suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital 12 days later.

The life of Mr Curnow can never be replaced but often, it is through tragedy that action is taken to prevent furture fatalities. As the global youth network for road safety is witness, road traffic crashes kill 400,000 young people every year on the world’s roads and many of these crashes are caused by human error, careless driving or poor road safety infrastructure. The 1.3 million people killed on the world’s roads annually is testament to the urgent improvements required for road safety on all levels.

In 2007 at the United Nations World Youth Assembly for Road Safety, 400 young people released 1,049 ballons to the mark the lives lost on the world’s roads every day. In a speech, a young lady who had lost her brother to a road crash pledged, ‘We will not let your death be in vain and as young people will take action for road safety everywhere’.

Road deaths will always be a heatbreaking account, turning tragedy into action is the reason why YOURS created the youth movement for road safety; because too many of our peers are being killed on the roads and action needs to be taken. We pursue a range of actions that prevent these tragedies happening to ensure our young people are safer on the roads. This also applies to the campaigning and implementation of road safety infrastructure that can enable road users to be safer coupled with education to make safer decisions.

This story illustrates road safety action required on a number of levels; courtesy on the road, safer road behaviour, appropriate road rules and implementation of appropriate pedestrian crossings. Mr Swainston will forever live with his actions but campaigning for safer roads to prevent this happening again is a step towards safer roads and preventing the carnage that our roads can bring.

Adapted from original story.