Young Europeans pay a high price to road crashes Every year more than 1,100 children are killed in traffic crashes and youngsters under the age of 24 account for 20% of deaths on roads in Europe. However, there are solutions and it is possible to improve the situation significantly. ROSYPE (ROad Safety for Young People in Europe) is the fruit of the will to provide concrete solutions to this major challenge, through an innovative approach.

Based on the idea of an “educational continuum”, i.e. a progressive and ongoing learning of road safety, the ROSYPE project offers an adapted approach to each age group from 6 to 25 : for young pedestrians and cyclists (aged from 6 to 12), two-wheeler riders (from 13 to 16) and young drivers (from 17 to 25).

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.