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Truck blind spots: Protecting learners on SA's roads

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Image: Arrive Alive
Image: Arrive Alive

Johannesburg - A new safe scholar program, aimed at highlighting the danger of blind spots to pedestrians, has been launched in a bid to increase awareness among young learners.

Trucks on our roads often make their way through suburbs, driving near schools. Its important to teach learners the dangers of moving around trucks.

Arrive Alive says "During the past few years many schools, teachers, and young learners have benefitted from the sterling work by the Imperial Scholar Patrol initiative and the pedestrian safety information provided to our young learners by trainers from Active Education and the Imperial Road Safety Mascot, Bongie.

Awareness of being visible 

"Pedestrian deaths among young learners are heartbreaking for every parent and teacher and any initiative to make our learners safe should be well supported. Pedestrian safety initiatives should include information not only on crossing the roads safer but also an awareness of being visible in traffic and the message to be “Visible and to Be Seen”.

"The initiative to make learners and the broader public aware of the “Line of Vision” for truck drivers and what constitutes a Blind Spot will make our roads safer!

Read the original story here.


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Arrive Alive's Johan Jonck says: "We congratulate Imperial and Active Education on this Initiative.

"In efforts to raise awareness about blind spots we tend to neglect the most vulnerable of road users - our pedestrians and Cyclists.

"Our child pedestrians are, due to their size and limited understanding of the dynamics of trucks, at much more risk. By helping them to understand what a blind spot is and how limited the field of vision if for truck drivers we could help prevent those crashes into children moving around trucks and other vehicles."

Jonck approached Bruce Smuts from Active Education for more information:

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