Nurturing young minds for safer roads

Staying true to its rather reassuring name, the Students for Road Safety (SFRS) programme has been successful in spreading awareness and instilling a sense of responsibility in the motorists of tomorrow. Nearly three years since its launch in 2013, the initiative shows just how much of a positive influence it has been on young minds.At the recently held GCC Traffic Week, Maersk Oil Qatar (MOQ), in partnership with Qatar’s General Traffic Directorate, welcomed more than 3,000 people to their exhibition tent in Darb Al Saai. A milestone annual event in the calendar of activities to support Qatar’s National Road Safety Strategy 2013-2022, the GCC Traffic Week seeks to build road safety awareness and encourage safe driving behaviour across the region.And what better way to propagate safe driving habits among the people of Qatar than to focus on the young? In 2013, MOQ, in partnership with the Qatar General Traffic Directorate, within the Ministry of Interior, as part of the national One Second road safety brand, launched SFRS. Last year alone, more than 5,000 students aged between 12 and 18 have benefited from the programme, and the results of this initiative at this year’s GCC Traffic Week have been even more heartening.An MOQ spokesperson told Community, “The success of any road safety initiative should be measured in the lives it touches and ultimately saves. Since the launch of the SFRS programme in 2013, we have so far engaged with 6,000 young people through more than 50 school events targeting private, independent and community schools, to educate them about safe road behaviours.”The gains made by the initiative are not vague or unsubstantial as campaigns towards such causes often suffer from. The robust partnership between MOQ and the Traffic Department at the Ministry of Interior has brought tangible benefits to Qatar by seeding behaviour change and moulding students into conscientious road safety ambassadors at school and at home.“We constantly hear positive feedback from teachers involved in these events who tell us how students walk away from the initiative with an improved sense of how drivers should behave on the road and why it’s everyone’s responsibility to improve driving standards,” the spokesperson explained, “Students, in their own right, tell us that going through the state-of-the-art road simulator with the programme’s experienced instructors and seeing, with their own eyes, why it is so important to be vigilant while on the road, motivates them to encourage their families and friends to practice safe driving behaviours.”The aim of SFRS, which targets all students aged 12 to 18, is to educate children about the importance of focusing and being attentive while on the road. SFRS travels from school to school, focusing on educating and preparing the country’s future drivers to usher in a much safer road environment.“Road conditions can change in one second, which is why it’s important to instil safety precautions, like not being on your phone and always wearing a seat belt, from a young age so they become a habit. The ultimate goal is for students to act as road safety ambassadors amongst family and friends,” the spokesperson said.Earlier, at the event, Brigadier Mohammed Saad al-Kharji, Director of Qatar’s Traffic Department, said, “I congratulate MOQ on its sponsorship and the range of activities which proved popular and effective, particularly among the younger generation, in encouraging positive road behaviours.” Everybody would agree that it’s encouraging to witness the size and scope of nationally-significant events like the GCC Traffic Week increase year on year.At the recent 32nd GCC Traffic Week, the educational facilities being organised and offered to the public have surpassed expectations. MOQ, for instance, had a more prominent presence at the venue, thereby allowing for more space to hold a variety of educational activities focused on raising road safety awareness.Of all the various fun and educational activities that were being offered in the MOQ tent such as a 3D exhibition of the history of Qatar’s traffic department and interactive presentations, the road simulator was understandably a popular feature with visitors. “The driving simulator used in the programme features cutting-edge technology, including a complete car cockpit and an advanced display system with a wrap-around screen. In this, a custom-made artificial intelligence engine reflects common traffic behaviours on Qatar’s roads like tail-gating, failure to indicate, flashing lights and cutting across cars at roundabouts,” the spokesperson said.If one wishes to know the positive impact of this initiative, the testimonies come from everywhere. Mohammad Taymour, Academic Vice President at Al Yarmouk Preparatory School, said, “The SFRS visit to our school has changed the way our students, and teachers, view the issue of road safety. Being able to sit in the simulator with expert guidance and see the effect of bad behaviours was a stark reminder of how we all have a responsibility to each other to show care and exercise caution while driving.”Paul Williamson, Principal at Newton International Academy (Barwa City), which hosted SFRS last year, said, “We were delighted that SFRS came to our school. The children walked away with an improved sense of how drivers should behave on the road and why it’s everyone’s responsibility to improve driving standards. The instructor, Peter John Marsh, made our students feel comfortable yet ensured they all were conscious of this very important message.”With around 75 per cent of all road deaths in Qatar, every year, known to be of young men aged between 10 and 29, educating the young is the proverbial need of the hour, and SFRS, arguably Qatar’s biggest and longest-lasting road safety campaign, is one of many such emerging programmes. “MOQ has supported a number of road safety programmes under the One Second national brand including a child car seat campaign which focused on education and awareness about the importance of using seats belts and child seats for children in vehicles; this was included in the Maersk GCC Traffic Week tent,” the MOQ spokesperson pointed out.In the past, the baby programme provided 7,000 baby car seats and was accompanied by a nationwide educational and awareness campaign. It also involved the training of nurses at Hamad Women’s Hospital in the importance of using car seats and on distributing them to the families of new born babies.