Cape Town: The Safety and Security and Urban Mobility Directorates of the City of Cape Town launched the new Road Safety Learner Centre in Mitchells Plain on Friday, March 15, 2024.
The learner centre’s objectives is to educate and create awareness of road safety to young learners to ensure that they appreciate and are aware of the importance of road safety.
The initiative was taken by the South African Road Federation (SARF), a non-profit organisation that represents many groups with an interest in roads and transport.
The SARF members eventually gave their free time to various initiatives, such as traffic safety matters, education and training in road transport, and traffic-related areas.
The primary function of SARF is to lobby the government with regard to traffic safety and transport-related issues that they carry out at both national and regional levels.
The City programme which was led by Alderman JP Smith, Councillor Rob Quintas and the Western Cape Minister of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie were joined by the Grade-2 learners from the Hillside Primary School in Mitchells Plain.
However, the Road Safety officers demonstrated the miniature road layout and conducted an interactive session on road safety do’s and do n’ts.
The little learners were also shown how to use their bicycles and scooters on the miniature road constructed from reclaimed asphalt.
The staff also created real-world scenarios for children at the Junior Traffic Centre at Hillstar Deriving License Testing Centre.
The new facility in Mitchells Plain will further expand the work which was already done in the area.
Notably, the Road Safety Education Unit between July 01, 2022 and May 31, 2023 has presented 245 classroom lectures to 10,148 children at 29 schools and ECDs in Mitchells Plain.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith said that the young children in our country are particularly vulnerable to injury or death from road-related incidents. So it is critical for them to help them in developing an understanding of appreciation for the rules of the road.
Alderman Smith mentioned that “Our road safety education unit does incredible work and in a single year, reaches thousands of learners.”
There is something to be said for a show-and-tell format, particularly for young audiences. The facility will go a long way in helping children gain a practical understanding of the concepts that they were taught during the road safety education lectures and save lives to boot.