AUTONEWS - AA CLUB OF KENYA MAGAZINE
– 13
LOCAL
SAFETY NEWS
‘Save Kids Lives’ gets boost from DT Dobie
T
he World Health Or-
ganisation estimates that
a child dies every four
minutes from a road traffic
crash around the world. Every year
186,300 children die from road
traffic crashes around the world as
they walk to school. This sad sta-
tistics inspired a global campaign
known as Save Kids Lives in 2015
to mainstream the issue as a global
road safety challenge. The cam-
paign created the Child Declaration
on Road Safety that was presented
to world leaders in November 2015
during ratification of the Sustain-
able Development Goals. The
campaign led to the inclusion of
road safety targets in the Sustain-
able Development Goals.
The World Health Organisation’s
2015 Global Status Report on Road
Safety reveals that this risk of dy-
ing from road crashes is highest in
low and middle income countries as
compared to the rest of the world.
A recent report released by FIA
Foundation, Amend and UNICEF (
Step Change: An Action Agenda on
Safe Walking for Africa’s Chil-
dren) shows that three quarters of
Africa’s children walk to and from
school in a context of inadequate
infrastructure for safe crossing and
speed management. The report also
cites the Global Burden of Disease
report that indicates that more
than 85,000 children and youth
are killed or seriously injured on
Africa’s road network.
Children are vulnerable road
users owing to the size, develop-
ing senses and short attention span.
A child’s small size reduces their
visibility in traffic and ability to see
traffic. Sadly, in a crash situation,
the first point of impact is the head
or neck region leading to fatal
outcomes at speeds higher than
30KpH.
A child’s developing sense of
vision does not allow them to accu-
rately judge speed and distance of
two moving objects often resulting
in poor judgment when crossing
Vincent Wandera (left), the Programmes Manager of Safe Way Right Way
(SWRW), Vicki Nyaga (right), the DT Dobie Human Resources Manager, help
Mitchel Wanjiru (second left) and Whitney Victoria (second right) pupils at City
Primary School to fit the reflective hoods and backpack covers which they
received
together with certificates after they successfully completed the Road
PHOTO
CAPTION
Safety Awareness Program.
ROAD
SAFETY
COURSE is a Vincent
Wandera
(left),
the Programmes
Manager of Safe
the road.
Another disadvantage
ing drunk
driving,
enhancing
road
child’s Right
developing
of hearing
adapting
Way
Way sense
(SWRW),
Vicki infrastructure,
Nyaga (right),
the vehicle
DT Dobie Human Resources
that limits their ability to correctly design, reducing risk for young
crossing in low visibility condi- children in vehicles.
Manager,
help Mitchel
and appropriate
Whitney Victoria
(second right) pupils
and consistently
determine Wanjiru
direc- (second
drivers, left)
providing
care
of sound
which School
complicates
injured children,
restraining
at tion
City
Primary
to fit the for reflective
hoods and
and
backpack covers which they
received
together
with short
certificates after they successfully completed the Road Safety
tions. Children
also have
attention spans
and are easily
Safe Way
Right by
Way
Awareness
Program.
These kits were
donated
DT Dobie and distributed to schools
distracted on the road. Is a nongovernmental organization
factors diminish a child’s ability
to safely navigate complex and
dangerous road traffic environ-
ment on a daily basis as they seek
knowledge.
All is not lost. A number of tried
and tested interventions have been
recommended by the World Health
Organisation to address this chal-
lenge and make children’s journey
to school safer.
World Health Organisation
publication Ten Strategies for
Keeping Children Safe on the Road
provides a blue print for children’s
road safety management. The
ten strategies elaborated in this
publication are; controlling speed,
using helmets, supervising children
around roads, improving children’s
ability to see and be seen, reduc- programs targeting school children.
The first program sponsored
by Total Group was developed by
education and road safety experts
targets children aged 6-14 years
in Africa and Middle East. This
campaign aims at equipping pupils
in public primary schools with road
safety knowledge to ensure that
they became safer road users. The
content is split into three lessons,
each covering a general theme.
Materials such as miniature road
signs, road track, colored pencils
and student exercise books are
given to schools to ensure learning
is both practical and interesting.
by SWRW
to improve
visibility of children
as they
to and
from school.
The net effect
is that these
set up in 2011,
runs walk
two road
safety
Writer Programmes Manager
Safe Way Right Way