Brian Bilal Mwebaze, a national of Uganda will be joining YOURS to give an international audience to his views on the road safety situation in Africa as well as top tips on how to work more effectively for road safety. Brian has a youthful and engaging tone and has been writing about his work in road safety and public health concerns on his blog. We loved his candid style so much that we thought it would be a fantastic idea to give Brian a regular column at YOURS!

Brian’s Biography
Brian K M. Bilal better known by his first name *Brian*  is a 25 year old Public Health Youth Specialist, with a high zeal and zap in youths participation and involvement in community, national and international matters of Youth Sexual & Reproductive Health, Environment and his all time passion Road Safety and First Aid. Brian has been in the road safety arena since 2000 as an adolescent when his father survived a fatal motor accident but sustained a left leg disability and eye sight loss.

He joined and headed the local school Red Cross group which experience would help him be appointed while at Mbarara University of Science & Technology as the ‘Road Safety Campus Coordinator’- a very prestigious position that saw him plan and implement a number of road safety projects in the 6 public campuses in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya. He won the East Africa Road Safety Campus Youth Award. His achievements were recognized by the International Red Cross through the Uganda Red Cross Society which sponsored him to be trained as an Emergence Medical Technician-Intermediate/ Road Safety Trainer at the famous Magen David Adome, Israel. He would later come back on an exchange programme to Denmark under the Danish Red Cross Youth where he was part of the team that implemented the ‘School to School Project’ in 4 Danish Schools and 4 Ugandan Schools: an experience that helped him understand and appreciate road safety in a developing and developed country

Brian is also the vice president of the African Youth Network on Road Safety-a network of 30+ youth organisations working on road safety in Africa. On 11.11.11, he was voted the Communications Officer for the Africa NGO Network on Road Safety:-a network of national organisations working in road safety arena in Africa.

Currently the Public Health Youth Advisor for the Red Cross, and Youth representative to Uganda National Safety Working Group Brian advises on what he calls ‘The 3 Women of His Life’ which is First Aid & Road safety programmes, youth sexual and reproductive health programmes and the environment as regards to design, monitoring and evaluation and needless to mention, advocacy

While not reading and writing about and to ‘‘The 3 Women of His Life’, Brian is a freestyle soccer player, rice glutton, a certified movie addict, factual and ardent fan of ‘Take That Rock Band’. Brian also has a BSc., A Master of Public Health and is almost Doctorate Student of Public Health at University of Sydney.

YOURS is looking forward to publishing Brian’s regular column so stay tuned and be sure to check his blog out shortly!

Our worskhop coupled fun with serious learning to create an engaging atmosphere of learning.

YOURS then encouraged young people to write down their personal action plans to commit to road safety beyond the workshop. The young people not only pledged to be safer but also said that they wanted to share the road safety message with their peers as well as not speed, encourage safer driving amongst family and friends as well as many other personal road safety commitments.

The young people told YOURS: ‘This workshop was really important and really fun, I learnt a lot and my attitude towards the road has changed’. A video report with testimonials is now available to view on the right column of this page!

YOURS will also provide an evaluative report shortly. As YOURS moves forward into 2012, our focus on global workshops will continue!

YOURS thanks Brand Oman and the organizers of the Muscat Youth Summit for their commitment to road.

Further, if all 50 states were to enact comprehensive GDL laws, it could generate savings of $13.6 billion per year. The report findings are timely, as Congress readies to consider reauthorization of highway and infrastructure spending – legislation that historically has included bold public health and safety measures.

Novice teenage drivers are the most likely drivers on the road to have car accidents. In fact, 16-year-old drivers have crash rates two times greater than 18-to-19-year-old drivers and four times that of older drivers.

GDL helps new drivers gain experience under supervised and less risky conditions. The most comprehensive GDL laws include nighttime driving restrictions, passenger limits, cell phone and texting bans, mandatory behind-the-wheel driving time, minimum entry age for learner’s permit (16), and age 18 before full licensure. In some states that have enacted strong GDL laws, the incidence of teenage driving related deaths have dropped by as much as 40 percent.

“Teen driving deaths are a real public health crisis,” explained Vicky Dinges, vice president of public social responsibility, Allstate. “What’s worse is that these deaths are avoidable. We can take very simple, common sense steps that would protect young drivers across the country. Our Allstate agents see firsthand the dangers for young drivers on the road and as a company we are committed to putting an end to this epidemic.”

More than 81,000 people were killed in crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 20 in the decade from 2000 to 2009, making teen driving crashes the leading cause of teen deaths nationwide.

In addition to the lives lost, the total cost to the nation of crashes involving teen drivers in 2009 was estimated at $38.3 billion. These costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses for public and private insurance, police and legal costs, motor vehicle damage, employers’ uninsured costs and fire losses. These costs were paid by employers, state and local governments and by citizens through taxes, fees and insurance premiums.

“Over the last 20 years, graduated driver licensing laws have saved an estimated 15,000 lives. These laws can save thousands of American lives and save billions of dollars for consumers, businesses and state and local governments,” said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “Our elected officials do not have many opportunities during their careers to take action that will save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in one legislative action. This is one of those times.”

To review the complete report and related content, visit www.allstatenewsroom.com or download it in our attachments.

Coming to Agreement

GDL laws are minimum standards that can help keep teens safer on the road; however, the more that parents are involved in their teen’s driving experience, the more likely they will be a safer driver and passenger. To help educate parents and teens about the safety measures that keep drivers protected, The Allstate Foundation created a new free Parent-Teen Driving Agreement. The agreement can help parents and their teens make safer decisions when they get behind the wheel and when they ride as passengers with their friends.

“The Parent-Teen Driving Agreement helps open the door for a conversation about safe driving with your teen,” said Dinges. “The agreement works best when it is followed by actions demonstrating those safe driving behaviors you want your teens to engage in, and reinforcing those behaviors with continued, evolving discussion as your teen is exposed to new driving situations.”

The new agreement provides the opportunity for parents to discuss their teen’s responsibilities when driving or riding as a passenger in a car driven by another teen, and to decide together on the consequences when those responsibilities aren’t met. The agreement encourages discussion about several different issues that affect safe driving behavior, including: 

• No texting or cell phone use while driving – Cell phone calls and texting increase crash risk significantly, and teens are particularly affected.
• Wearing a seatbelt – Using lap/shoulder belts can reduce the risk of dying in a car crash by 45%.
• Stopping distractions – In 2009, 16 percent of all fatal crashes for people under the age of 20 were reported to involve distracted driving.
• Slowing down – In 2009, speed-related crashes accounted for 34% of fatalities among 16-to-19-year-olds.
• Driving during the day – Nearly half the teens that died in car crashes in 2009 were killed between 3 p.m. and midnight.
• Limiting the number of passengers – The presence of one passenger increases the chance of a fatal crash; the presence of one male passenger nearly doubles those odds.
• Being a safe passenger – Being a responsible passenger can help other drivers be safer. In addition to not having more people in the car with a teen driver than is allowed under law, responsible passengers can offer to make a call or send a text for the driver, refuse to get into the car when the driver is drunk or drugged, and avoid risky situations.
• No drinking or drugs – Thirteen percent of high school seniors reported driving under the influence of marijuana, a number nearly equivalent to those who reported driving under the influence of alcohol.
• Getting good grades – Good grades aren’t just important for your teen’s future career, they are also indicative of safe driving behavior. Studies have shown a strong correlation between getting good grades and being safe on the road.

The original story can be found at AllStateNews

This year, the 4th edition of the European Youth Forum for Road Safety (EYFRS) initiated some groundbreaking resolutions for the years ahead. Embedded in the programme was the award giving for the winning poster for Europe. This initiative was created by DG Move in collaboration with EYFRS organizers. Over 800 posters were designed by young people but only one could win. Check out the poster!

The declaration, drafted by YOURS was officially adopted by the youth delegates from across Europe at the 4th Edition of the European Youth Forum for Road Safety 2011 held on 24-25th November 2011 at the European Commission, Brussels – Belgium. The youth delegates urge decision makers across Europe to commit to safer mobility because of the tragic circumstance that sees over 400,000 young people being killed on the world’s roads every year with thousands more seriously injurred.

Youth Commitment

The text of the delcaration includes:
We have respect for our own life and for the lives of our peers. Because life is so fragile, we must do our best to live safely and also encourage our peers do so. We fully acknowledge the importance of youth involvement in making road safety happen. We call for awareness among our peers of the serious risks they run in becoming involved in road traffic accidents. We call upon our peers to serve as role models on the road and to promote road safety among our friends and families – particularly our younger brothers and sisters. Specifically, we ask our peers to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, avoid speeding, refrain from aggressive behaviour on the road, use helmets when riding motorcycles and bicycles, wear seat-belts when in motor vehicles, and ensure that we are visible on the roads.

However, our efforts alone are not sufficient. We therefore also call upon our parents and guardians, our schools and universities, the communities in which we live – as well as on policy-makers, community-based organizations, private sector companies, media, celebrities and the entertainment sector – to share responsibility and work together with us to make the road ahead safe and sustainable. We also see that we have an obligation to help each others by sharing the knowledge and networking with other worldwide youth organizations.

We therefore urge you to:

• Continue to support the annual European Youth Forum for Road Safety and to acknowledge its importance as a forum for young people to meet and share best practices, and to make their voices heard at European level.
• Develop and implement policies and initiatives to make European roads safer, in particular:to encourage through education at school the development of a road safety culture at a younger age; to develop, through the training and licensing process, a sense of individual responsibility and respect of other users;
• to re-inforce the awareness amongst young people of the need to comply with road traffic rules and to avoid risky behaviours, in particular in relation with speed, drugs, alcohol and the use of mobile phones while driving;to improve the safety of young people as vulnerable road users, and to address as a priority the safety of young riders of powered-two-wheelers.
• to prevent and limit the consequences of crashes involving more particularly young people through the development of safer infrastructure and vehicle technologies;
• to strengthen efforts to reduce the number and severity of road traffic injuries which may have long-life dramatic consequences for young people;
• Discuss youth and road safety issues, learn about the situation of young people on the roads and bring their issues to the forefront.

YOURS Director, Mr Floor Lieshout gave a presentation about using declarations in general to achieve effective change, ‘How to advocate using a declaration’, this presentation is attached in attachements.  His presentation is also attached as a video along with the presenatation of Communications Officer Mr Manpreet Darroch along with a highlights reel from the forum.

You can read the full text of the European Youth Declaration for Road Safety in the attachments.

Masin’s poster depicts one young person crossing the road with two shadows; the shadow of her loved one her was killed on the road. The poster is poignant and thought provoking and Masin presents the stark reality of the loss of life on the road emblazoned with the words ‘ Safe roads in Europe, Yes we Care’. More information about the poster contest and its briefing can be found here.

The 3rd Muscat Youth Summit (MYS) gave focus to a plethora of pressing youth issues facing young people in a changing world. From sustainable cities to urban arts, from graffiti expression to digital activism; the Muscat Youth Summit was an engaging and progressive exploration of global youth issues in an interactive and participatory approach.

This year, the YOURS staff team were in attendance to the MYS to bring attention to the global road safety problem against a backdrop of important issues to be addressed in the coming years for global youth development.

Our workshop was attended by over 30 young people who had chosen to give road safety their attention. The workshop facilitated by the YOURS team gave the young people a taster on the global road safety problem from ‘Why Road Safety is a Global Issue’ to ‘Why young people are vulnerable road users’ with a focus on how young people can be road safety actors and ambassadors back home.

The workshop was inherently participatory and interactive with lots of ice-breakers, energizers, role plays and multi-platform expression with the embedding of many different activities to enable active learning.

The day long workshop started by gauging young people’s knowledge of global road safety to which many were not aware the road crashes were the biggest killer of young people globally. Young people then went on to explore the reasons behind this and came to grasp the fact that young people are vulnerable road users with reference to the key risk factors causing road crashes.

Our workshop attendees then went through fast paced learning sessions on seatbelts, speed and distracted driving and with young people taking the message and personalizing it through interactive role plays, expression through art and learning through doing.

At the end of the workshop, YOURS assessed learning again to see a visible change in their knowledge and attitude. From 40% of young people saying they thought seatbelt wearing was important at the start of the workshop to 100% expressing their support for seatbelt use saw a clear attitude change and learning journey take place from start to finish.

YOURS then encouraged young people to write down their personal action plans to commit to road safety beyond the workshop. The young people not only pledged to be safer but also said that they wanted to share the road safety message with their peers as well as not speed, encourage safer driving amongst family and friends as well as many other personal road safety commitments.

The young people told YOURS: ‘This workshop was really important and really fun, I learnt a lot and my attitude towards the road has changed’. A video report with testimonials from the young people will be available shortly! YOURS will also provide an evaluative report shortly. As YOURS moves forward into 2012, our focus on global workshops will continue!

YOURS thanks Brand Oman and the organizers of the Muscat Youth Summit for their commitment to road safety and for their efforts to facilitate this engaging, progressive and empowering youth summit!

YOURS is a long term advocate for peer-to-peer messaging, that being young people talking to young people about road safety issues. We know that a young person is more likely to absorb a message and act on it when it has been transmitted from a peer; a trusted friend or a person of a similar age that they can relate to. At the European Youth Forum for Road Safety, youth delegates share their message with other young people about keeping safe on the road.

Under the directive eye of talented journalist Mr Manolis Andriotakis, youth delegates from around Europe who attended the forum gave short interviews to the camera about their work and the roles they are taking to promote road safety in their nations.

Additionally, Mr Andriotakis asked the young delegates to give a short message to young people about keeping safe on the roads. The messages given are inspiring. Young people clearly value life and are taking responsibility for their own safety.

German delegate Ms Katja Gutknecht says, ‘Where do you picture yourself in 5-10 years, probably on a beach enjoying life and not in a cemetry?’. This is a very poignant message from one young person to another. Sometimes, young people feel invincible but often, lives are cut short because a young person didn’t take responsibily. She continues her message to say, ‘Think about how you will get home after a party if you have come on your bike or in your car’, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol is one of the biggest reasons young people, especially young males die in car crashes.

A key theme in the messages was about ‘enjoying life, that life is precious and that personal responsibility is one of the most important things for road safety’.

Coordinator of the European Region, Mr Axl Druart told the camera, ‘This is so easy guys, take some responsibility because you know drink driving is wrong, if you want to see your friends again be safe, and if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for others and respect yourself’.

Overall, the message from the young people was positive and orientated around a positive approach; about preserving life. This is exactly what youth and road safety is all about. A positive message from young people to their peers because we care. A message of preserving life and taking responsbility. The efforts of road safety in this respect focus on attitude change and this, coupled with strong lobbying for action from authorities cemented in the action points in the European Youth Declaration for Road Safety will create a road safety movement that is cross-sectoral, effective and most importantly, life changing.

The video is availbale to view on the right column.