Women in Road Safety (a forum of The Road Safety Foundation) will be conducting a road safety campaign from the 14th to 16th December 2012. The campaign will focus on the N3 Toll Route and will be based at the Shell Montrose facility, one of the busiest and most popular motorway sites on the route. The campaign will target two aspects of road safety: child safety in the car and general road safety awareness.
CHILD SAFETY SEAT PROJECT
Wheel Well Centre (a non-profit road safety organisation) and IMPERIAL I-Pledge will be supplying 150 donated, refurbished child seats for distribution over the three days. A number of booster seats for older children sponsored by N3 Toll Concession and Bridgestone SA will also be available on site. EWC Express, a courier company within IMPERIAL Logistics, will take care of the logistics involved in the campaign.
Seats are offered to the public on the basis that a family can donate what they feel they can afford in order to receive the correct size child seat. A database of beneficiaries is maintained so that as children grow out of seats, they can be donated back to Wheel Well Centre and re-used for new families. All donations are used for the refurbishment project and for the purchase of additional booster seats. There will be informed volunteers dispensing advice at Shell Montrose Ultra City and educational pamphlets will be provided by Imperial I-pledge.
“There is a great need for information regarding the correct use of child seats in cars,” says Clare Vale, chairperson of Women in Road Safety. “Many parents are unaware of the risks they are taking when driving with their children unsecured, and others find that affordability of new seats is a problem. Our objective is to help educate the public while assisting those who genuinely find that the outlay for new seats is too great a hurdle in these tough times.”
ROAD SAFETY MUSIC CD
South African musicians have joined together to help raise awareness about road safety. Women in Road Safety has put together a music CD that will be distributed to motorists free of charge at the Shell Montrose site and at N3TC’s N3 Mooi Toll Plaza from the 14th to 16th December 2012. A limited number will also be distributed at Hertz Car Rental outlets in other parts of the country.
Each band or artist has recorded a personal road safety message as a prelude to their track, and all the musicians, agents and record companies involved have donated their time and music at no cost. Shell South Africa Marketing (Pty) Ltd has covered all costs involved in the manufacture of the CD, and N3TC has arranged distribution through TollReach.
“We had an incredible response from local artists when we approached them to contribute to this project,” says Clare Vale. “Our horrific road safety statistics have touched most people at some stage, and each musician we contacted wanted to make a difference by participating in the CD. We believe that most motorists will enjoy listening to the outstanding local music content whilst absorbing the positive road safety messages expressed by the artists between each track.”
The concept behind the CD is that it provides an ideal opportunity to get the road safety message across in a positive way, through well-known individuals who are also seen as role models. By distributing the CD on busy roads during holiday time, the likelihood of drivers and their families listening to the CD immediately and taking on board the positive, personal road safety messages will be increased. By using original artist recordings and familiar local artists, the CD should also have a “shelf life” beyond December.
High profile musicians participating include The Parlotones, The Ice Project, Kurt Darren, Lonehill Estate, Watershed, Loyiso, Arno Carstens, Lady Lea with Poy Zen Ivy, Chromium, Gang of Instrumentals, Monique, Jamali and Lloyd Cele.
The CD will be linked to a simple road safety activation with exciting prizes, including Defensive Driving experiences generously donated by MasterDrive, so watch the press and social media for more information.
