Drive aims to curb pedestrian deaths
MORE than 25 000 commuters across South Africa have been engaged in the Automobile Association (AA) #ISeeYou campaign, aimed at making pedestrians more visible on the country’s roads.
The national road safety campaign was launched on June 26 in collaboration with the Federation Internationale de l’ Automobile (FIA), Ford and Michelin.
The FIA funding was made possible through its Road Safety Grant programme, an international road safety initiative.
“Through our visibility campaign we want to raise awareness of the dangers of being a pedestrian in South Africa, and urge more pedestrians to make themselves visible while on the road,” the AA said.
One in three fatalities on South African roads are pedestrians.
Figures from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) show that 14 071 people died on our roads last year. More than 5 400 of these, or nearly 40%, were pedestrians.
Apart from a media drive, the campaign was rolled out through various events at taxi ranks around the country. Nearly 13 000 adult and child visibility sashes as well as high visibility bag tags were distributed.
From the end of June, when the campaign began, to the beginning of August, teams of #ISeeYou representatives spoke to 25 846 commuters at nine taxi ranks throughout the country, including in the Eastern Cape.
The AA said feedback from the campaign showed that commuters were grateful for the initiative, especially because visibility was very important for the elderly and children.
For inquiries visit www.aa.co.za