October 25, 2007
By George Matlala
THE SAFETY of children on the roads came under the spotlight at a seminar held in Sci Bono, Newtown, where City officials and school principals explored ways of spreading road safety awareness among learners.
Organised by the City's transport department, the Principals Road Safety Seminar formed part of Public Transport Month during which government encourages citizens to use public transport to cut congestion on the roads and air pollution by exhausts.
Scores of school principals from around Johannesburg joined City officials and representatives, from among others, the Gauteng Department of Education, Road Traffic Management (RTMC) and Drive Alive to look at ways of improving the safety of children on the roads.
Principals and City officials discuss the safety of children on the roads
Among those present at the event, held on Wednesday, 24 October, were Rehana Moosajee, member of the mayoral committee for transport; Duduzile Maseko, the managing director of the Johannesburg Roads Agency; John Simpson, chairperson of RTMC and Moira Winslow, founder of Drive Alive.
Moosajee called on educators to play a leading role in the road safety campaign. "We see you as leaders in spreading the message of road safety in communities," she noted.
Moosajee pledged that Government would work with communities to achieve the goal of an efficient and safe public transport. "We are convinced that as government alone we cannot achieve anything," she noted, adding that they were also working with taxi operators to improve the industry.
Moosajee appealed to the educators to make road safety a priority in their schools. "Educating young people is the place to start." Parents had to lead by example when it came to road safety. "You could well be the reason why somebody's life is saved."
According to Moosajee, drivers breaking traffic rules cause more than 90 percent of crashes on the roads. On average, 36 people are killed on South African road everyday, she noted. "Without changing people's mindsets, even the best public transport system will never work."
Moosajee said road accidents cost the City millions of Rands daily. But the figure did not tell the pain and suffering that people went through, she said.
The City was pouring millions of rands into public transport infrastructure, she said, citing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system; the R2-billion project introduce fast-moving buses on Joburg roads. "This is the biggest public transport system that Joburg has ever seen," she said.
Her department was also working on a programme to promote transportation values such as respect, co-operation, accountability, honesty and Ubuntu. "We want to grow values of transport," she noted.
Maseko said the biggest challenge the JRA faced was the safety of children. "One loss of life around schools is something we cannot condone," she said, urging the educators to help government initiate more programmes for the safety of children on the roads. About 240 primary schools around Johannesburg were being targeted for road safety campaigns.
Educators were also invited to send submissions about the challenges of road safety they faced in their areas. "Your submissions will be made a City of Johannesburg document," she said.
Unmarked roads, traffic lights without pedestrian heads and faded road signs were some of the contributing factors towards road accidents, said John Simpson of RTMC. However, people breaking traffic laws caused the majority of road crashes. Road signs had to be installed and lanes marked especially in and around areas that have schools.
People who broke traffic rules would lose their licences when the new points system kicks in, warned Wayne Minnaar, spokesperson of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), adding that the City was intensifying law enforcement to fight lawlessness on the roads.
For their part, many principals pointed at the absence of road signage, bad driver behaviour and speeding as serious threats to road safety at schools. Many asked for signs that show drivers to slow down when approaching schools to be installed. "Our children's lives are at stake," said Adah Dikole, a principal at Thabaneng Primary School in Orlando, Soweto.
Dikole said at least two kids had been knocked over near the school. She agreed that educators had to help government to spread the message of road safety at schools and in communities. "We want to see this partnership growing," she said.
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