“Empowering learners is imperative in the conversation around road safety, awareness and transport at large. If we consider the growing number of road incidents and the impact of unsafe driving and road usage on South African citizens today, it is up to corporate South Africa to be part of the change we want to see. For us, this includes teaching our youth the power of being responsible road users,” says Mohammed Akoojee, Group CEO of Imperial.
The programme is aimed at driving road safety education through the use of exciting visual aid and booklets that cover material that is relatable for younger minds, with the energy and excitement that is relative to them. Furthermore, it is underpinned by a comprehensive road safety discussion, followed by a K53 module that is used in South Africa’s learner license training, to train young students and prepare them for their learner license test.
“Over the next year, we aim to visit 85 schools and educate over 83,000 learners, across nine provinces – really driving the power of road safety home as rapidly as possible and fundamentally creating a generation of safe road users,” continues Akoojee.
“But it won’t stop there as we commit to continuing this programme as long as possible, to reach and assist as many of South Africa’s youth as possible.”
While much of the focus for Transport Month has been on raising awareness on the important role of transport in the economy, and to invite participation from civic society and business, in providing a safer, more affordable, accessible and reliable transport system for the country, Imperial believes that road safety education is still a critical focus in this larger discussion and therefore, created a platform to stress the importance of being responsible future road users.
