Nov 03, 2015 RoadSafety, Commercial, VolvoTrucks, Volvo
Current statistics put traffic deaths at 3 400 globally per day, with South Africa's road mortality rate 31.9 deaths per 100 000 people (according to an August 2015 issue of Time Magazine). The World Health Organisation estimates that without drastic action, the number of road traffic fatalities will increase by 45% by 2030, and commercial vehicles are implicated in about 10% of fatal road accidents.
“Over the years, the Volvo Group has developed many pioneering safety features for its products to limit the impact of traffic accidents on people,” said Torbjörn Christensson, President of Volvo Group Southern Africa. “We have also found in our research that the cause of the majority of road accidents is as a result of to human behaviour to some degree. For this reason, Volvo Group has decided to work on raising children’s awareness of how to behave safely in traffic through its Stop, Look, Wave campaign.”
At the campaign’s kick-off event in South Africa, Volvo Group in partnership with the Star for Life non-profit organisation, educated 768 children at Palmridge Primary School in Kathlehong, Johannesburg, about the importance of road safety.
A training kit was specially developed to facilitate conversations with the children, and the message was brought home through various song and dance activities. The participating children also received reflective vests to wear to make them more visible wherever they walk or ride their bicycles.
The day also involved discussion and practical demonstrations regarding the size of trucks and buses, their uses, when and how they operate, as well as the need for road users to be as visible as possible to the truck drivers.
“We are very proud to partner with Star for Life in this essential campaign,” said Valentia Hobbs, General Manager of Marketing and Communications at Volvo Group Southern Africa. “As one of the country’s leading vehicle manufactuers, we believe it is our duty and privilege to campaign for more awareness around road safety, especially when it comes to children.”
Star for Life also had a mobile health unit available to the high school students to distribute primary health care information and to offer basic treatment and services.
The Stop, Look, Wave campaign will now be rolled out to other Star for Life Schools around the country, in order to reach as many children as possible.
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