Programs

ROAD SAFETY WEEKS

ASIRT Kenya spearheads and participates in observing Road Safety Weeks. This helps to focus the attention of all road users to matters related to road safety. The purpose is also to highlight the fact that road safety is a shared responsibility .ASIRT-Kenya collaborates with other stakeholders. Key objectives include :

Creating awareness and sensitization on road safety to the community and the public in general.
Increasingly working with other partners to take measures that will help reduce the number of road traffic crashes in Kenya
The publicity campaign is intended to provide information, create awareness and promote attitude change and ultimately behavior change by road users.

Activities include and not limited to:

Media interviews, features
Awareness and sensitization forums in selected malls
Signing of a quilt pieces and petitions
Processions
Art work / poetry competitions in schools
Speeches by victims and guests.

International Awareness Events-

ASIRT Kenya has spearheaded World day of Remembrance for Road crash victims in Kenya since year 2007.This is a day that is set aside by the United Nations and is commemorated every 3rd Sunday of November to acknowledge the impact of road crashes and to show solidarity with those affected by road crashes.

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) 2016

ASIRT Kenya partnered with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims 2016. Various activities were lined up for the event including; a gathering, vigil, walk and tree planting.

Procession Candle Lighting

A Procession in Nairobi to Mark the WDR 2016 Candle lighting and a moment of silence mark the WDR 2016

A procession of road crash survivors, family members, government officials and the general public walked through the capital city of Nairobi. Activities included testimonials by survivors and family members who have lost loved ones, speeches from government officials and other stakeholders and candle lighting. A first response demonstration was conducted to educate participants. Family members carried portraits of their loved ones who had lost their lives through road crashes. Trees were also planted in memory of the lives lost.

Tree planting

Tree planting in memory of the lives lost during the WDR 2016

ASIRT-Kenya gives family members and friends of road crash victims and survivors a chance to write messages on quilt pieces. These pieces are then joined to make quilt banners. These have been powerful tools that show the human impact of road crashes with each piece representing a life lost. They represent faces behind the numbers.

Quilt banner

ASIRT Kenya Memorial Quilt banner

MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

Media is a crucial partner in ASIRT-Kenya's work. Without the involvement of media it would be difficult to sustain campaigns thus making it difficult to our objectives. Media raises the level of information and education on road safety and generates information seeking by individuals.

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Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) Managing director Mr. Edwin Mukabana engages journalists during

the launch of ASIRT Kenya Safe Routes To schools on September 2016 at the Serena Hotel, Nairobi.

It enhances community awareness on the impact and scope of road crashes. It stimulates interpersonal influences via conversations with others –talk shows, interviews, features, documentaries and reinforces existing positive beliefs and behaviors

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Kenya Red Cross, Safia Verjee, KEPSA Managing Director, Mr. Edwin Mukabana and ASIRT Kenya Executive director, Ms. Bright Oywaya sign a declaration during a media conference hosted by ASIRT Kenya during the launch of Safe Routes To School in September 2016.

This ultimately influence societal attitudes which lead to a reduction in unacceptable behavior on our roads.ASIRT –Kenya works with the media to encourage objective reporting and dissemination of information/education and awareness creation. We have engaged all mainstream media in talk shows and interviews. We have also participated in creation of media clips that have been viewed around the world. (Guardian/ FIA Foundation)

RESEARCH:

ASIRT-Kenya were administrators for Georgetown University who designed an intervention to empower matatu passengers to voice their concerns to the drivers about bad driving. This research project commenced in March 2008 with thousands of vehicles enrolled. Preliminary data in the 1st phase shows a significant reduction (25-50%) in insurance claims. Following promising results of Heckle and Chide(phase 1), a randomized control trial of a road safety intervention in the matatu (mini-bus)sector in Kenya. The project has since expanded with Georgetown University working with other partners. For more information visit http://gui2de.georgetown.edu/projects/zusha/and http://www.georgetown.edu/news/usaid-grant-road-safety-zusha-project.html.

VICTIM SUPPORT

Counseling: ASIRT Kenya works with road crash survivors and their families to help them process the sudden loss through counseling and friendship. People who become suddenly disabled by road crashes often find it difficult to adjust and be reintegrated to society after hospitalization.

ASIRT Kenya also empowers crash survivors and their families to be advocates for road safety. Several opportunities through testimonials in public events like World day of remembrance for road crash victims and also working through media.

GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY

In 2010, a consortium of partners received funding from The Bloomberg Family Foundation to expand road safety to 10 low- or middle-income countries. Dubbed the Road Safety in 10 Countries Project (or RS10 ), this initiative included a road traffic injury prevention component in all 10 countries: Brazil, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Kenya, Mexico, Russian Federation, Turkey and Viet Nam. Additionally. The initiative also focused on trauma care in Kenya and India, and data system development in Kenya and Egypt. RS10 was implemented over five years.

Interventions focused on two major risk factors agreed upon by local stakeholders.
The project was undertaken through a consortium approach. The consortium partners are:

WHO
Global Road Safety Partnership,
Johns Hopkins University,
Association for Safe International Road Travel
the World Resource Institute for Sustainable Transport (EMBARQ)
World Bank

The Kenya project had three components:

Road safety,
Trauma care, and
Data system strengthening

ASIRT-Kenya wss a member of the national coordinating committee. ASIRT’s role included:

Mobilizing the civil society
Mass media attention
Victim support
Assist in implementation

OTHER GLOBAL ACTIVITIES

ASIRT Kenya has participated in various international events. These include participatation at the first UN Youth Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland in 2007, "Make roads safe "Africa meeting in Cape Town, the "Make Roads Safe" Sub Saharan African Automobile conference in Kampala in 2008 , Global meetings for NGOs Advocating for Road Safety in Brussels in 2009, Washington DC, Turkey and Morocco.

With the Minister for transportation and members from NGOs from across the globe

Minister for transportation and members from NGOs from across the globe

To minimize death and injury on the roads, advocacy for more road safety measures is necessary. Advocacy is the act of arguing for action on behalf of a particular issue and the process of influencing, informing and assisting decision and policy makers. ASIRT Kenya has had various engagements with policy makers concerning road safety issues.

ASIRT Kenya in collaboration the International Institute of Legal Affairs (ILA) with other stakeholders is supporting the processing of the Traffic (Amendment )Bill 2014. This Bills seeks :

To regulate the speed around schools in order to protect children when crossing the road to or from school
To ensure that there are speed-calming measures around schools.
To prescribe fixed statutory penalties for offences related to speed.
to provide for safety of children in motor vehicles used for school transport by ensuring that vehicles transporting children to and from school conform to prescribed safety standards and are fitted with child safety equipment, design safety features ( See summary and benefits of the Bill Attached)

ASIRT Kenya's advocacy results include :

Advocating for publishing of regulation on Helmet law of 2009.
Participation in the review of the helmet standard that was facilitated by World Health Organization Kenya and the Kenya Bureau of Standards under the RS-10 project
Advocating for adoption of the World Day of remembrance for Road Crash Victims by government on its annual calendar. This has since been achieved.
ASIRT Kenya participated in legislative advocacy of the Midiwo Bill that was merged with the government Bill that produced the Traffic Amendment Bill, 2012.
ASIRT holds advocacy workshops aimed at equipping NGOs dealing with road safety with advocacy skills.
ASIRT-Kenya continues to advocate for policy and legislative changes in other areas of road safety

training for ngos

Training for NGOs

schsafety A growing epidemic of road traffic crashes is devastating the next generation of children around the world. Every 30 seconds a person is killed in a road crash more than 3300 per day and over 1.2 million people per year dying in road crashes worldwide. As many as 50 million are injured. Vulnerable road users are particular at risk, especially children. 500 children die every day in road crashes. In many Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries between 40 and 50 per cent of people killed as a result of a road crash are pedestrians.

In Kenya adults and children are killed every day as a result of road crashes, and tens of thousands are injured, often suffering lifelong disability.

According to NTSA (National Transport and Safety Association) statistics, as at 24th of August 2015 Kenya has had 7607 people who have been involved in road crashes. Out of this 1,899 have died, 2,869 seriously injured and 2,619 slightly injured. Pedestrians take a large number with a total of 1,651 of those involved in road crashes. Children fall under this category.

Children are vulnerable road users. Anywhere where there is a potential for moving vehicles is a potentially dangerous traffic situation for children. This is because:

Are easily distracted and focus on only one aspect of what is happening
Are smaller and harder for drivers to see
Are less predictable than other pedestrians
Cannot accurately judge the speed and distance of moving vehicles
Cannot accurately predict the direction sounds are coming from
Are unable to cope with sudden changes in traffic conditions
Do not understand abstract ideas - such as road safety
Are unable to identify safe places to cross the road
Tend to act inconsistently in and around traffic

ASIRT Kenya's interventions towards child safety include:

Having school based road safety campaigns and education/ training programs.

parents ASIRT Kenya partners with various schools that are near roads and have a record of children being involved in road crashes. The programs involve training of teachers, parents and students.

Kasarani primary School

The children and staff were trained on safe use of roads and given reflective sashes to promote their visibility on roads

1. Promote localized road engineering to keep children safe on their school journey

paintrd This involves mapping out areas near schools and on the school route that are crash prone and have recorded high numbers of crash incidents. These areas require signage and road calming measures like speed bumps and rumble strips. ASIRT Kenya advocates and engages the relevant authorities to push for modification of the environment. This is done by partnering with relevant authorities in the country

Kasarani primary school

With partnership with City Council, a zebra crossing was put on the road at the entrance of the school to facilitate the safe crossing of roads.

Encourage and assist parents in forming street crossing patrols for their children.

Through partnering with schools and having access to PTAs, parents are advised to teach their children about road safety. This is sensitization during parents meetings and other interactive school activities.

With partnership with Usalama Watch Initiative, a person was stationed at the road with a stop and go sign (lollipop) to stop traffic and allow children to cross the road safely

Help communities get organized as a key part of creating the long-term cultural changes that will keep children safer on the roads.

Through sensitizing of people in the community. Plays and skits are carried out during weekends and school holidays that emphasize road safety in a fun way that will engage the children and general public in the accident prone areas.

Use of reflective material to promote visibility

kidscross Upon completion of the sensitization program, we then issue reflective materials to the children to aid in making them visible when on the roads. These have included sashes, bags and bracelets.

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