Integrated approach key for road safety: !Owos-Oab

MARIENTAL, 22 SEP  – Schools need to use an integrated and cross-curriculum approach to address road safety issues in Namibia, National Road Safety Council Chairman, Eliphas !Owos-Oab has said.

Speaking here on Friday at the national training of teachers in the Hard Region on the Integration of Road Safety Education for Grade 8 to 11, !Owos-Oab said one of the reasons children and young people are killed or injured in road accidents is because they do not have the necessary knowledge and skills that allows them to deal with the hostile traffic environment.

He emphasised that if children receive road safety education as part of their normal school curriculum, it will help curb road and pedestrian accidents as it is recognised globally as being one of the most effective ways of providing children with the knowledge.

He added that in Namibia, many crashes involving school children occur on their way to school and from home, as well as in communities.

“To be effective, road safety education in schools should be developmentally and culturally appropriate as the growth and development patterns, particularly physical, cognitive, moral and psychological, of children and young people need to be considered along with social and cultural norms,” he said.

Quoting the 2017 Road Crash Report statistics, he said about 774 lives were lost in 2017 alone in road accident of which 45 per cent are Namibians between the ages of 16 and 35, while minors under the age of 15 made up 12 per cent of the figure.

“Our young people, some of them who are even economically active citizens, are at risk. Therefore, this integration of road safety into the national school curriculum is so crucial at this stage of our road safety strategy.

At the same occasion, Hardap Governor, Esme Isaack said the integrating of road safety education into the national school curriculum is a noble initiative, which needs the support of all major stakeholders.
(NAMPA)