Unitrans Supply Chain Solutions and TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa have joined forces to launch a road safety education project for primary school learners.

Each year, road traffic crashes cause nearly 1.3 million preventable deaths and an estimated 50 million injuries – making it the leading killer of children and young people worldwide. Receiving road safety education at a young age is globally recognized as one of the most effective ways of providing youngsters with road safety knowledge. This education plays a vital role in shaping the attitude and behavior of children, ensuring they become responsible drivers, passengers, pedestrians and cyclists.

The project, aimed at promoting awareness of and educating learners about the importance of road safety, will be managed by the Road Safety Partnership SA (formerly known as GRSP SA), which will roll at four primary schools in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, from August to November this year.

The VIA Program is built on internationally recognized child road safety education best practices, drawing from the experience of road safety practitioners from several industries. The program is modular, flexible, accessible and easy to integrate and implement in schools.

The first beneficiaries of the project will be Grade 6 learners from Moriting Primary and Isiziba Primary in Tembisa, Michael Mkhwanazi Primary in Tsakane and Job Maseko Primary in KwaThema. Comprising four learning modules that are divided into teaching units, each with content filling about 50 minutes, the Program will be implemented in the schools in a minimum of six teaching units.

Launched officially on 20 July 2022, various stakeholders attended the official launch at Michael Mkhwanazi Primary, including executives from both sponsor companies, principals from the schools, learners from each school, representatives from GRSP SA and the Department of Education.