KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 ― Children should be taught the importance of road safety as many victims of road accidents are children, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh has said.
With an average of 6,000 to 7,000 people killed in road crashes every year, many of which are children, schools are are appropriate avenue to inculcate road safety awareness among students, she explained.
“Children are often the victims of accidents. So teaching them the importance of road safety, with vital tips such as what to look out for when crossing the road, what pedestrians should avoid, and how to be aware of the dangers around you on the roads can only be a positive outcome,” the international actress and Prudence Foundation SAFE STEPS Road Safety Ambassador said today.
Through children, she added, they are also able to help reach families as the children can remind their family members to focus on the road and drive safely.
“This is especially important these days as many people are distracted by their mobile phones while on the road,” she said during her visit SJK (C) Choong Wen in Taman Lian Hoe off Jalan Klang Lama today, where she raised awareness and shared educational messages on road safety.
Prudence Foundation is a community investment arm of Prudential Corporation Asia.
Two years ago, the Foundation launched SAFE STEPS Road Safety programme in collaboration with the National Geographic and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
Yeoh has been committed to achieving recognition for road safety as a global public health and development priority since 2008.
All road safety education information are approved by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Yeoh, who is also the Global Road Safety Ambassador for the UN Decade for Road Safety (2011-2020), and the spokesperson for the FIA’s High Level Panel for Road Safety, spent time with the students teaching them the importance of road safety through fun and educational activities.
With 500 children killed in road crashes globally, the Prudence Foundation’s SAFE STEPS Road Safety programme is a pan-Asian public service programme aimed at raising awareness, helping save lives by disseminating clear and simple educational messages through three programmes covering road safety, natural disasters and first aid.
“In addition to providing educational messages, the SAFE STEPS Road Safety programme also serves as an enabler to drive behavioural change,” said Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation.
“Many people are not aware of just how many people die in road crashes across the world. The statistics are shocking.
