Road accidents are a major cause of death and disability. Estimated 1.35 million people are dying and 20 – 50 million getting injured each year. The World Health Organization considers road and traffic injuries to be a health and development crisis, which is only going to increase in the coming years, unless necessary legislative reforms and behavioral changes are adopted. Road traffic injuries not only impact individuals but also have deep social, emotional and economical repercussions on the society as a whole. The sample proposal on road safety proposes to initiate a road safety campaign to increase public awareness of road safety laws and persuade the public to abide by them and minimize the death and injuries due to road accidents.
The number of deaths on the world’s roads remains unacceptably high, with an estimated 1.35 million people dying and 20 – 50 million getting injured each year. The World Health Organization considers road and traffic injuries to be a health and development crisis, which is only going to increase in the coming years, unless necessary legislative reforms and behavioral changes are adopted. Road traffic injuries not only impact individuals but also have deep social, emotional and economical repercussions on the society as a whole.
There is a need to promote and enforce comprehensive road safety laws. Following some very simple safety rules can bring down the road accidents considerably. Avoiding speeding, drinking and driving and distracted driving, and using motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints are some of the safety measures, which when adopted have the ability to enhance road safety to a large extent. XYZ foundation proposes to initiate a Road Safety Campaign to increase public awareness of road safety laws and persuade the public to abide by them in the Khomas Region of Namibia.
Project Background
The number of deaths on the world’s roads remains unacceptably high, with an estimated 1.35 million people dying and 20 – 50 million getting injured each year.
The World Health Organization considers road and traffic injuries to be a health and development crisis, which is only going to increase in the coming years, unless necessary legislative reforms and behavioral changes are adopted. Road traffic injuries not only impact individuals but also have deep social, emotional and economical repercussions on the society as a whole.
Let us take a look at some of the recent facts to get an understanding of gravity of the crisis:
- Half of those who die on the world’s roads are vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
- Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death globally among people aged 15–29 years.
- Around the world, almost three times more men than women die from road traffic injuries.
- Five key risk factors in road traffic deaths and injuries are: drinking and driving, speeding and failing to use motorcycle helmets, seat-belts and child restraints.
- Over 90% of the world’s road traffic fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries, even though these countries have only about half the world’s vehicles.
- Without action, annual road traffic deaths are predicted to increase to around 1.9 million by 2030 and to become the seventh leading cause of death.
Studies reveal that most of these tragedies can be prevented if proper road and safety measures are adopted. There is a need to promote and enforce comprehensive road safety laws. Following some very simple safety rules can bring down the road accidents considerably. Avoiding speeding, drinking and driving and distracted driving, and using motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints are some of the safety measures, which when adopted have the ability to enhance road safety to a large extent. XYZ foundation proposes to initiate a Road Safety Campaign to increase public awareness of road safety laws and persuade the public to abide by them in the Khomas Region of Namibia.
Road Safety Deficit in Namibia: According to the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), Namibia’s road injury fatality rate in the African continent is 31 per 100000 which is more than the global average of 26.6 per 100000. When compared to the European region’s decreasing rate of 9.3 fatalities per 100000 – despite an increase in motorization in that region – the reality of the crisis facing Namibia is grim. (Legal Assistance Centre, 2016)
Reports further suggest that road injury fatality rate in Namibia is considerably higher than the African continental average by more than four fatalities per 100000. An annual fatality rate of 35 per 100000 in Namibia translates to between 600 and 700 people killed in road accidents in Namibia every year. According to the Namibia Statistics Agency, road accidents are one of the major causes of deaths in Namibia. Furthermore, in addition to the fatalities, close to 6000 people each year are injured in road accidents every year in Namibia.
Road Safety in Khomas Region: As per reports Khomas region of Namibia has the highest incidents of road accidents and injuries. News and media have reported close to 20 road accidents over the past weekend, again higher than five other regions.
The project will be implemented in the Khomas Region of Namibia. Khomas is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia and its name refers to the Khomas highland. Khomas is centered on the capital city Windhoek and provides for this reason superior transportation infrastructure. It is located in the central highlands of the country and is bordered by the Erongo region to the west and the northwest and by the Otjozondjupa region to the north. To the east is the Omaheke region, while in the south is the Hardap region. The region is characterized by its hilly countryside and many valleys.
It has well-developed economical, financial, and trade sectors. The project will be implemented in all the 10 constituencies of Khomas Region.
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- John Pandeni
- Katutura Central
- Katutura East
- Khomasdal North
- Moses ǁGaroëb
- Samora Machel
- Tobias Hainyeko
- Windhoek West
- Windhoek East
- Windhoek Rural
Behind each accident is a family, a friend and a story that had a very sad ending. The last few years have seen an increase in the number of road accidents in the Khomas Region of Namibia.
was killed last year by a speeding truck when she was returning from office. She was riding her scooty and was wearing a helmet, but neither her helmet nor her survived the hit. The accident not only killed her but also killed the dreams of her old parents. ****** was riding his new bike when he accidentally hit a bus, he sustained severe head injury and has been in coma for the last 1 year. He was not wearing a helmet. ***************, ************ and ***** were all returning from a party. They were all under the influence of alcohol and made the terrible mistake of driving after drinking. Their car rammed into a nearby building, two of them died on the spot while one of them lost his right leg and is on a wheelchair. These are not some fictional stories but are all real stories and have recently happened in Khomas Region. All the three cases had victims that were young (18 to 30 years of age.)
To prevent such incidents in the future and to improve road safety within the Khomas Region, it is important that a mass awareness campaign on Road Safety Activities is implemented and people are sensitized about the measures that can be adopted to reduce occurrence of road accidents. Through the proposed project XYZ proposes to initiate a mass awareness campaign in Khomas Region.
Project Description
Project Goal: To reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by building knowledge and capacity of youth in Khomas Region, Namibia.
Objectives:
- Objective 1. To understand the status of existing problems associated with road safety and traffic issues in Khomas Region.
- Objective 2. To publish a Road Safety Action Plan and best practices for Khomas Region.
- Objective 3: To educate and sensitize the locals about road safety measures and inculcate road safety habits among students of 50 schools and 5 colleges in the region.
Project Activities
Objective 1. To understand the status of existing problems associated with road safety and traffic issues in the area.
Activities: To undertake situation analysis in the project site through a combination of secondary and primary research. The first and foremost step in the project will be to undertake a situation analysis in the project site. The primary purpose of conducting the situation analysis will be to get detailed information of existing cases of road accidents in the area. Also the situation assessment will help in defining the social and cultural causes that may impact the success of the project. The following two activities will be undertaken as part of the situation analysis.
Secondary Research: Our research team shall undertake a detailed review of the existing road safety issues in the project site. Data related to the number of accidents that occur, fatalities due to road accidents, laws and policies pertaining to road safety, existing programs and schemes being implemented in the area. All this shall be collected through secondary research which means research papers, government documents and records and policy documents will be reviewed to get the desired information.
Primary Research: Our project team shall also undertake primary research where they will be conducting interviews, FGDs and questionnaire surveys with identified stakeholders in the project site. Stakeholders that will be interviewed during the situation analysis will include:
- Police
- Traffic Police
- NGOs and community based organisations
- Lawyers and advocates
- Local councils
- Urban Planners
- Insurance companies
- Tyre manufacturers
- Academic institutions
- Car manufacturers
- Health authorities
- School and college students
The situation analysis will provide information related to the following: ‘
- Number of road related accidents in the area.
- Percentage of young people affected through accidents
- Causes of road traffic injuries
- Agencies involved in implementing road safety projects
- Success rate of existing schemes and campaigns
- Gaps in the existing campaigns and projects
- Existing laws and policies for road safety
- Social and Cultural factors affecting road accidents
The results of the assessment will help in fine tuning the project activities and focus on the site specific issues. Also the data collected during the initial study will serve as the baseline report which will be used for monitoring and evaluation work in the later stages of the project.
Objective 2. To publish a Road Safety Action Plan and Best Practices for Khomas Region.
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- Stakeholder Consultation: XYZ foundation will organize a series of stakeholder consultation workshops with the identified stakeholders in the 10 constituencies of Khomas. These workshops will be organized to help us in formulating a Road Safety Action for the region. The stakeholder consultations will help in developing a proper plan for different stakeholders and how they can help to improve the road safety in the region. The participants in the consultation will include officers from government departments, academicians, researchers, health officials, police department and representatives from NGO & CSOs.
- Panel Discussions: XYZ foundation will hold panel discussions to carry out detailed discussions on all aspects of road safety. The panelists of these discussions will be experts from the field of road safety and the participants for these discussions will be students from various colleges and institutions.
- Policy Review: Our research team will undertake a detailed review to examine the pros and cons of the existing policies. Along with assessing the status of current policy, interventions of the country, we shall also examine policies of other countries as well.
- Best Practices Document: We shall also be compiling a best practice document showcasing success stories and case studies of various road safety activities from across the world. The best practices document will be compiled after a rigorous analysis of original case studies that have been successful in reducing road accidents.
Objective 3: To educate and sensitize the locals about road safety measures and inculcate road safety habits among students of 50 schools and 10 colleges in the district.
Activity 1: Mass Awareness Campaign
- Street Play: Street plays have been used for conveying messages to the masses for a very long time. These plays prove to be an effective way to convey the messages in a very impactful manner. XYZ will be organizing street plays across various locations so as to reach the masses.
- Display of relevant posters and hoardings: We shall be publishing messages and posters with requests to follow traffic rules. These messages will be displayed on hoardings at public places so as to catch the attention of the public regarding road safety and traffic rules.
- Screening Documentaries: We will be illustrating the different provisions of road safety laws and road safety activities through interesting videos. Our videos will not only talk about the provisions of the law but will also show various measures that enhance road safety. These videos will be shared on our social media pages and also will be shared to various colleges and institutions.
- Issue of Comic Version and Social Media Stories:To make the content visually engaging and compelling for young people, we shall be creating/publishing a comic strip in leading newspapers and social media sites. Various rules and regulations and road safety measures will be explained using simple and easy language so that it is easy to understand. We intend to publish a comic module to simplify the existing regulations pertaining to road safety and rules.
Miscellaneous awareness activities:
- Press conferences on new road safety data, reports, and initiatives.
- Radio or television talk-shows.
- Special newspaper supplements.
- Televised debates.
- Campaigns to promote the use of helmets and seatbelts and to prevent drink-driving and speeding.
- Celebration of road safety week
Activity 2: School Awareness Campaign
We will be targeting 50 schools and 10 colleges in the Khomas region and will be conducting road safety awareness campaigns in these schools. It is important that children are made aware about traffic rules and road safety measures so that they understand the importance of following traffic rules and also become advocates of road safety in the long run. A series of activities will be conducted in these schools which will include:
- Essay writing
- Poster making
- Social Media Stories
- Sketching Competition
- Jingle
- Rap competitions
- Slogan Writing
Activity3. Organizing Workshops
XYZ foundation will also be organizing a series of road safety workshops in identified offices, residential colonies, schools and institutions. The primary purpose of these workshops will be to equip the road users to know the basics of road safety measures. The workshops will be on various aspects of road safety:
- Use of helmets
- First aid for road accidents
- Speed limits for city areas
- Drinking and Driving
- Use of seat belts.
- Traffic Signals
- Two wheeler safety rules
- Pedestrian safety rule
Project Outcome
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- Detailed situation report on road safety issues and schemes in the region compiled.
- Stakeholder consultations to understand stakeholders perceptions and knowledge on road safety successfully organized.
- Road Safety action plan specific for the region developed and published.
- Best practices on road safety across the world compiled.
- Road safety posters published and displayed across the region.
- Awareness on road safety amongst the Students and youth improved.
School awareness campaigns designed and successfully conducted in 50 schools and 10 colleges.
Human resource/Personnel and Budget
The project team will include
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- (a) Mr. ……………
- (b) Ms. ……………….
- (c) Ms. ……………..
- (d) Dr..…………..
- (e) Dr. ……………
The project team members undertaking this assessment have a minimum of Masters Degree and strong professional background relevant to the assignment. The project team has strong interpersonal, analytic, writing and communication skills, and the project team possesses good knowledge of Road Safety Actions and existing laws pertaining to it.
Responsibilities of Team Members
- Team Leader- Overall supervision of the assignment and to ensure quality and timely delivery of the tools and assessment reports.
- Research Guide- Situation Analysis, Assessment schedule/Questionnaire, data interpretation will be done in the guidance of the guide.
- Researcher- Will be a part of the assessment team for primary data collection and data analysis.
- Project Officer- Will be responsible for scheduling and organizing various workshops/events, inviting participants, networking and coordination between different people.
- Documentation Manager – Will be responsible for developing and designing posters, social media stories, reports, videos and best practices documents etc.
