A road safety programme to protect over 6 000 learners from at least five schools in Site B was launched on Tuesday 26 July.
Dubbed Junior Traffic Training Centres (JTTCs) programme, the initiative was launched at Sakumlandela Primary School. The plan is to protect learners from Sakumlandela, Umangaliso, Ikhusi, Ntwasahlobo and Sobambisana primary schools as well as from Usasazo High School against road accidents, especially on Bangiso Drive.
It is estimated that 6 700 learners from the five schools use the road daily.
Through the programme learners between the ages six and 10 years are targeted. The programme implemented by the directorate Road Safety Management (RSM), under the auspices of the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, on behalf of the Road Traffic Management Corporation.
The launch was organised in partnership with Childsafe South Africa, a non-government organisation (NGO) which serves as an injury prevention unit among children through research, education and recommendations to legislation, the Western Cape Department of Education and City of Cape Town.
The aim is to teach learners about safe mobility in traffic and to teach road safety education in a play-environment, without exposing them to the dangers of real traffic situations.
The establishment of the JTTC is part of the Walking Safely To School Project (WATCH) initiative by Childsafe South Africa at all schools along the Bangiso Drive in Khayelitsha.
Executive director of ChildSafe South Africa Zaitoon Rabaney said: “A child learns best when things are reinforced, reinforced and reinforced. We will be taking this programme to 14 schools on Stellenbosch Arterial Road, cutting through the Belhar and Delft as the road is a hot spot for traffic crashes and pedestrian injuries,” she said.
Rooted in the Safe Systems Approach, the WATCH project is funded by the FIA Foundation as part of the Foundation’s Manifesto 2030 Advocacy Hub.
The project encompasses road infrastructure modifications and default 30km/h speed limits in school zones to protect pupils on the route to and from school, combined with road safety training, education and awareness for children, teachers and the broader Khayelitsha community.
Thousands of learners walk to and from the project schools with no proper identification of safe places to cross or walk.
Sakumlandela principal Makhosandile Dyun said the programme was important as it would help learners grow up with knowledge of road rules.
“People in general do not observe road safety and this leads to a number of people getting knocked over. We have also had cases where children have been hurt on the road,” he said. “So it is important to inculcate as they grow up and apply it in their lives”.
