Making travel to school safer

Transcription

1 Safe Travel to School A Discovery and Childsafe Initiative Making travel to school safer for children, every day 1

2 Safe Travel to School A Discovery and Childsafe Initiative 2

3 A snapshot of the global picture regarding road accidents Globally, 1.3 million people are killed in road accidents making road accidents the leading cause of death for young people worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Statistics show that 50 million people worldwide are injured and disabled as a result of road accidents. Should this trend continue unabated, it is estimated that the annual death toll will rise to 1.9 million by As a result of these sobering statistics, the United Nations General Assembly declared the years as the Decade of Action for Road Safety worldwide, in an attempt to curb the high death rate and injuries attributed to road accidents. Curbing the number of road accidents will go a long way in helping to reduce the number of deaths and the economic burden countries experience. Globally, the economic cost to developing countries where 90% of the world s road accidents occur is about $100 billion each year. 1

4 South Africa s high road accident rate South Africa has one of the highest road accident rates worldwide. Records show that each year, up to people die on our roads. This is an unacceptably high death rate as the majority of road accidents are preventable with greater awareness and knowledge of the rules of the roads and driving know-how. According to the International Transport Forum s 2013 Road Safety Annual Report, South Africa ranked worst out of 36 countries when it came to the number of road fatalities. Statistics in the report show that in 2011, South Africa had a rate of 27.6 deaths per people, compared to the other countries mentioned in the report, which included both first world and emerging countries. The high road accident rate costs our country s economy over R300 billion each year. This does not bode well for our country s future. Given the daily reports of how many people are killed or maimed on our roads, there is no question that our school-going children need to be safer when travelling to and from school. This is essential, especially since young children and adolescents are most likely to be affected by road accident-related injuries that may render them incapable of learning, and have a negative impact on their quality of life. The Discovery CHILDSAFE Safe Travel to School programme seeks to CHANGE THIS 2

5 The Discovery Childsafe Safe Travel to School programme The Safe Travel to School programme is a partnership between Discovery Limited and Childsafe South Africa. The primary vision of this programme is to make South African roads safer for children, especially for those travelling to school every day. We aim to achieve this through improving and increasing road safety knowledge through driver education. We recognise that children, as stated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, have a right to live in a safe environment and be protected from injury. The programme, which will be rolled out across South Africa within a fiveyear period, commenced in February 2013 as a year-long pilot programme in the Western Cape. The pilot targets scholar transporters who regularly transport children to and from school. The focus will be on improving their driving behaviour and knowledge through a collaboration with Discovery Insure and other partners. Safe Travel to School is committed to: reducing the number of school buses involved in road traffic accidents; making the daily commute safer for children; enhancing the working relationship between schools and the relevant stakeholders; rewarding good driving behaviour of those drivers who abide by the law. A critical component of the programme will focus on educating learners, teachers, parents and community members through educational materials, curriculum support and other materials. This will increase their road safety awareness, equip them with the necessary knowledge, tools and know-how to safely travel to and from school. 3

6 Why the Western Cape was selected for the pilot In the Western Cape, the N2 highway is the site of many a road accident that either results in fatalities, or in serious injuries that may result in disabilities and trauma that will remain with the survivor for a lifetime. The N2 in the Western Cape is a major highway that starts in central Cape Town, and traverses through Somerset West, tracing the country s eastern coast until it ends in Ermelo, in Mpumalanga. Many children use this highway to get to school, and some of these schools are situated near the highway, making road safety awareness education and training of paramount importance. The schools selected to take part in the first phase of the Safe Travel to School pilot are situated near the N2 and other high risk routes. The WESTERN CAPE was selected as the pilot area, primarily because of its high road accident rate, and potential for the pilot to make a SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE. 4

7 The Safe Travel to School programme in action The duration of the Safe Travel to School pilot is 12 months. The training will take place on a train the trainer basis, whereby a certain number of teachers for each school will be trained. In turn, these teachers will train others to understand what Safe Travel to School is about, and how to implement it. Discovery Insure will collaborate with the Safe Travel to School programme and provide their expertise in reducing the number of road accidents through its innovative Vitalitydrive programme. Vitalitydrive makes use of behavioural economics to encourage people to engage in good driving behaviour and reward them for driving well with the help of the DQ Track device which is installed in their vehicles. The DQ Track device makes use of the latest telematics technology to measure drivers driving behaviour and reward them if they are driving well. The DQ Track can measure if a driver is exceeding the speed limit, braking harshly, turning sharply at corners, and even driving late at night. 5

8 Each month, Vitalitydrive members receive a report on how they are driving, and what areas they need to work on to improve their driving. Discovery Insure will extend the Vitalitydrive programme to Safe Travel to School. Scholar transporters will learn about what it means to be safe, good drivers, understand road safety and be rewarded for good driving behaviour. Scholar transporters whose vehicles pass a roadworthy check and meet certain criteria will receive a DQ Track device. Criteria drivers need to meet to receive a DQ Track device are: Vehicles: All vehicles to undergo rigorous roadworthy tests to ensure vehicles are capable of and safe for transporting children. All vehicles to be fitted with seat belts vehicles not fitted with seatbelts will not qualify for DQ Track device. All vehicles to be registered, with the correct operating permit. Scholar transporters must: have a valid driver s licence; agree to receive monitoring and continuous feedback on their driving behaviour; attend a defensive driving programme; take responsibility for all children entrusted to their care, and ensure they are properly restrained in their vehicles; have good eyesight or spectacles that help them with their eye vision; adhere to the laws of the road; have no health conditions that may affect or hinder their driving ability; complete a driver-safety questionnaire. 6

9 7

10 A story that highlights the importance of being a good driver It is early in the morning and Siphokazi is excited about going to school. She wakes up early, puts on her school uniform, which her mom carefully ironed for her the night before. She sits with her parents, eating breakfast and chatting with them before her lift club arrives. At 6:30am, her lift club arrives outside her house, and she walks out, bidding farewell to her parents and climbs into the vehicle, a green minibus taxi. She cheerfully greets both the driver, and the other children who also make use of the lift club going to the same school. The driver, Mr Nda, is a young man, who is responsible for collecting the children from their homes, transporting them to school, and collecting them after school and taking them home safely. He gets paid for his services on a monthly basis. On the way to the school, there is a road crossing, where motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles stop, according to the traffic light signals. However, on this particular morning, Mr Nda didn t pay heed to the red traffic light signal and sped through the red light. Unfortunately, his vehicle collided with another minibus taxi, also transporting school going children to a different destination. The collision was severe, resulting in the fatal deaths of five children, including Siphokazi, and left one child disabled, unable to walk. The police arrived on the scene, and found that Mr Nda was negligent in not paying attention to the red traffic light, and was liable for culpable homicide. He was arrested for the death of innocent schoolchildren. Further investigations showed that his driver s licence had expired a month ago, he had exceeded the acceptable speed limit for that road, and he was negligent in ensuring that his car was roadworthy. He failed to take his car for a service when it was due, and as a result, his tyres, which were in need of being replaced, were not replaced. His insurance company refused to 8

11 cover him, based on the findings of the investigation. Mr Nda was subsequently summoned to court, and as a result, has a criminal record, rendering him unemployable as a driver. Because of Mr Nda s negligence, Siphokazi and four other children never got to go to school that morning, and they didn t come home safely to their families. Their families had to bear the burden of grief that comes with losing a child to the scourge of road accidents caused by careless drivers. They had lost precious children who they brought into the world, and who gave them joy, and who would have cared for them in their golden years. The other child, who is no longer able to walk, now has to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Had Mr Nda taken his car for a service, replaced his tyres, renewed his driver s licence timeously, and paid attention to the traffic lights, Siphokazi and the four other children would still be alive, and the young boy would still be able to go to school and not be in a wheelchair. And Mr Nda would not have a criminal record, and still be employable as a scholar transporter, and trusted by the parents of the children he transported to and from school each week. This story highlights the importance for scholar transporters to be aware of the enormous responsibility they have when parents entrust them with the lives of their children. 9

12 10

13 Assessing the Safe Travel to School drivers performance Discovery Insure will be able to use driver behaviour data and performance metrics gleaned from the DQ Track device installed in the scholar transporters vehicles to assess how well they are driving. This data will be collated in a matrix called the Driver Performance Score (DPS). Scholar transporters will receive continuous feedback on their driving behaviour, and recommendations on how to improve their driving. To keep the scholar transporters engaged in the programme, Discovery Insure will: Award the top five drivers, based on their DPS, with a monetary reward every month. Each year, there will be a Grand Prize for the top driver, which will see the top driver receiving a brand new vehicle. In this way, the Safe Travel to School programme will be, through the DQ Track system, able to measure the impact of the initiative through measuring how well scholar drivers drive, and the extent of their safe driving awareness and knowledge. This, in conjunction with liaising with provincial and law enforcement officers who will enforce road traffic rules and ensuring compliance with road traffic laws will contribute towards the success of the programme. 11

14 12 Desired outcomes of Safe Travel to School The desired outcome of the Safe Travel to School programme is to see: A reduction in the number of child deaths during transport to and from school. A reduction in the number of child injuries during transport to and from school. An increased awareness of road safety issues among learners and scholar drivers. An indicator of driving behaviour as measured by the DQ Track. An improvement in the standard and quality of school transport, with vehicles being roadworthy, without any mechanical faults. Installation of age-appropriate safety seats. An improvement in traffic flow interventions within and around the school environment. The Medical Research Council will conduct a study on this pilot to determine the effectiveness of the programme and the DQ Track system in reducing the number of road accidents, and road accident-related deaths and injuries.

15 How the Safe Travel to School programme can make a difference to your community When Ms Bosman read about what happened to Mr Nda in a newspaper article, she became concerned, for like Mr Nda, she too, was a scholar transporter, responsible for the young lives she transported to school and home every day. She checked her car s service history, and found that her car was in need of a service and took her car to be serviced. She checked that her driver s licence hadn t expired, and ensured that her car was roadworthy. She saw a brochure about the Safe to Travel to School programme, and decided to join so she could learn more about the programme and gain experience and perhaps, win a new vehicle. Ms Bosman visited her nearest school which had the Safe Travel to School programme, and applied to be part of the programme. Upon applying, an educator explained to her the benefits of having the DQ Track device installed in her car, and the criteria she would need to meet to be eligible for her device. She met all the criteria and qualified to have the DQ Track device installed in her vehicle. Excited, she attended the training course and embarked on the 12 month long programme. She informed her employers, who entrusted her with the lives of their children about this new programme, and they were enthusiastic about the concept, and supported her. Each month, she received feedback about her driving behaviour from Discovery Insure. Her driving behaviour improved each month as she reduced her speed, paid attention to the road rules, corrected her harsh braking, and ensured her car was well maintained and roadworthy. She shared her feedback with her employers, who were impressed, and six months into the programme, she was selected as one of the top five drivers for that month, based on her excellent Driving Performance Score. This meant she received the prize money, and she was elated, as this meant she could put this money into her home bond and pay it off quicker. She was even more motivated to do better on the programme, and continue to transport the children in her care safely to school and back 13

16 home to their families. Ms Bosman shared the news about the programme with other scholar transporters, and with her friends and family. As the programme ended, the grand prize for the top driver was announced, and to her surprise, Ms Bosman was the top driver and she received a brand new vehicle. Stunned, Ms Bosman realised the positive impact of the Save Travel to School programme, not only on herself and other scholar transporters, but on the children, their schools, families and the communities. She saw value in continuing to be a scholar transporter, and educating other transporters about the importance of being a safe driver, and referred them to the Safe Travel to School programme. 14

17 About Discovery Limited Discovery Limited is a South African financial services organisation established in 1992 with a growing global footprint. Discovery s core purpose is to make people HEALTHIER and enhance and protect their lives, and being a force for SOCIAL GOOD through this. This core purpose permeates through all aspects of what Discovery does as a business. Discovery is committed to South Africa s economic growth, and promoting a healthy, thriving society through innovative partnerships with government, public and private partnerships. 15

18 About Childsafe South Africa Childsafe South Africa is a campaign of the Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa (CAPFSA) and Safe Kids Worldwide. The organisation focuses on promoting optimal health and development of all children under the age of 18. In addition, Childsafe is governed by a national council that consists of members who are from the Medical Research Council, the National Department of Health, the Department of Education, the South African Association of Paediatric Surgeons and Paediatricians, the National Road Safety Council and the University of Cape Town Medical School. Contact details For more information about the Discovery Childsafe Safe Travel to School programme and how to be part of it, you can contact: Kay Jaffer tel: fax: capfsa@pgwc.gov.za website: CHILDSAFE is committed to keeping kids free from HARM 16 The information in this brochure was correct at the time it went to print: January 2014

19 Safe Travel to School A Discovery and Childsafe Initiative 17

20 Discovery 155 West Street Sandton or GM_24825DCOR_21/01/2014_V5 18