Southern Africa faces many challenges, a serious one of which is the high rate of road deaths, with almost half of these fatalities being pedestrians. Furthermore, according to the 7th Annual Road Safety Africa Summit, 32% of all child fatalities in South Africa are due to road traffic accidents.

In early 2012, the Trans African Concessions (TRAC), who is responsible for the operation and management of 571km of the N4 toll route between the Hans Strijdom off-ramp in Pretoria (Tshwane) and the Port of Maputo in Mozambique, responded to country-wide accident statistics by resolving to improve pedestrian safety along this route.

Having identified high traffic zones along the N4 where pedestrians may be particularly vulnerable, TRAC called for proposals for the implementation of a pedestrian safety education plan at identified schools. As a pilot project, the focus was on schools in the Ngodwana area in Mpumalanga. “TRAC hopes to replicate this programme, should it be a success, in other communities along our route,” says the company’s CEO, Arthur Coy.