Africa Road Safety Week

Road Safety Week runs from November 17th to November 23th. It is an annual event and the biggest road safety awareness event. According to World Health Organization (WHO), rank Road accidents as 8th among the leading cause of death globally, with an estimated 1.2 million lives lost every year. Majority 60 percent of the accidents occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.
 Yesterday Rwanda joined the rest of the continent to mark the annual Africa Road Safety Day. It was held​under the theme “Road Safety is a concern for us all.” The day coincided with 

​the bi-monthly city-wide fitness day dubbed ‘Car Free Day’ at RRA ground in Kimihurura but also marked the official launch of ‘Road Safety Week’ that will be held under the theme: “Let’s Strive for Adequate Road Safety.”
According to Rwanda National Police (RNP) the current statistics in Rwanda on road security indicate that 437 fatalities and 662 injuries were recorded between January and September this year. Some of the causes of road accidents include overtaking in hotspots with 7,034 related offences in the same period; driving while on phone with 6,841 cases; 1,404 overspending cases; and drunk driving 1, 064 offenses in the nine months. Mechanical fault of automobiles was also highlighted among the causes. Out of 106, 835 mechanical inspections conducted in the last nine months only 49, 359 were found roadworthy.

Majority accidents are recorded between Friday and Monday. Majority of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists where Motorcycles account for majority 56 percent of the causes or involved in all accidents recorded between January and September this year, followed by pedestrians with 50 percent and bicycles at 36 percent. Overall, fatalities reduced by 20 percent from 549 cases in last year’s first nine months to 437 cases in the same period this year. Road accidents kill at least two people every day.
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In Rwanda the Road Safety Week scheduled to end on November 23, will also see awareness campaign conducted among all sects of road users such as pedestrians, drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists, meeting with transporters, visiting and supporting accident victims in hospitals, repainting and creating new Zebra Crossings across the country, among others.

​Health People Rwanda ( HPR) as  registered NGO working  on Road Safety  in Rwanda, We are planning to do different activities   as this event has great scope to reach many people across the nation and remind them of road safety, thus potentially preventing many accidents.
(source:www.police.gov.rw)

MORE PICTURE FROM THE EVENT

PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT AREA ATTENDED CAR FREE DAY

​NEW LOOK OF ZEBRA CROSSINGS IN KIGALI

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​Written by Nkumbuye Ami