May 24, 2021
The Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority in observance of the 6th Global Road Safety week on Thursday May 20, 2021 rolled out its outreach program for colleges and Universities at the Freetown Teachers College (FTC) Jui.
The event which was chaired by the Registrar of the College Madam Martina Foday attracted Students, academics and administrative Staff of the College.
Welcoming the SLRSA Team the Principal of the Freetown Teachers College Dr. Samba Moriba commended the SLRSA for including the FTC in this year’s Biennial Global Road Safety Week Celebration. He expressed hope that, at the end of the academic session both staff and students would be well equipped with the requisite Road Safety Knowledge. The Principal lamented over the huge death toll caused by Road Traffic Crashes noting that in 2020 Sierra Leone recorded 2,763 road traffic crashes, out of that figure 867 were fatal, 501 were male, 334 were female and 32 were children, this statistics Dr. Moriba said had great economic loss on the country as majority of the victims were bread winners.
The FTC Principal called for collaborative efforts in the Road Safety Campaign as Road Safety should not only be left in the hands of the SLRSA, he pledge the support of his institution towards the campaign against Road carnage and assured that his office would always be available for any assistance.
Giving an overview of the 6th Global Road Safety Week, Mr. Abdul Karim Dumbuya Public Relations Officer of the SLRSA disclosed that, the event was a biennial event and was declared by the former United Nations Secretary General Banki Moon, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 74/299 “Improving Global Road Safety”, proclaiming the Global Action 2021 – 2030 with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% Road Traffic Deaths and injuries by 2030. Mr Dumbuya furthered that, the Progress made during the previous Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020 had laid the foundation for an accelerated action in the years ahead. The SLRSA had developed a Strategic Plan in line with the UN Global Action Plan and also in the process of reviewing its National Road Safety Strategy to reflect the new UN Decade of Action. Global Statistics indicates that, Africa has lesser vehicles but account for more Road Crashes than the Western World which had more Vehicles, this variance is owing to best practice in the west as compared to Africa. The SLRSA PRO dispelled superstitious assertions that Road crashes were caused by evil spirits, reiterating that crashes were caused by the slightest human error and therefore called on the audience to take advantage of the session and assured that, the SLRSA would be having Road Safety Clubs that would serve as Road Safety Ambassadors in colleges and Universities.
Engineer Michael Jaiga Director of Traffic Safety of the Sierra Leone Road Safety Authority did a power point presentation on speed management, drawing references on best practices across the world to the current situation in Sierra Leone, Engineer Jaiga reminded the audience about great men who had lost their lives to Road Traffic Crashes and also those who had lost some parts of their bodies, and stressed the need for all to adhere to the speed limit of 30km/hour or 20 miles per hour in urban centers.
Other highlights of the outreach were presentations done by the SLRSA Director of Finance Mr. Joseph H. Momoh on the mandate and activities of the SLRSA and a presentation by a UK based Civil Society group Road Safe Sierra Leone (RSSL) led by Madam Gladys Taylor.