‘Walk Safe’ training conducted for students in Cambodia

In 2011, 254 pedestrians died on Cambodia’s roads; an increase of 17% on the previous year. Fighting to turn the tide on pedestrian safety, the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) is working closely with the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) at both governmental and community levels to raise awareness, educate and ultimately, reverse this trend.

To look at one example, on 10 May, a ‘Walk Safe’ training was conducted at the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) head office which was attended by hundreds of students and teachers from primary and secondary schools in Phnom. The main objective of the training was to teach students how to be aware of road safety issues when travelling to and from school.

The CRC’s Secretary General, Madame Pum Chantinie stated at the opening ceremony that because of the serious issue of pedestrian safety, particularly amongst the young, the CRC is placing a high priority on pedestrian safety activities and fully endorses the ‘Walk Safe’ training which is jointly supported by the Cambodian Movement for Health (CMH), Handicap International (HI), and the GRSP’s Global Road Safety Initiative (GRSI) – the world’s largest private sector road safety collaboration funded by Michelin, Renault, Shell, Total and Toyota.

Beyond the training, which will continue in other schools throughout the region, the GRSI funding has delivered crossing facilities such as zebra crosswalks, stop signs and fences to further enhance safety in the school zone.

Figures courtesy Road Crash and Victim Information System (RCVIS) 2011