The Road Ethics Project (REP) launched their first newsletter during the month of May to connect all those interested in creating safer roads for all.
REP views road crashes in Africa as an ethical crisis. Out of every 100 000 people, 26 die on the roads – well above the global average of 18 and the European region’s nine. Our continent cannot afford the economic and human costs of preventable road deaths, injuries and disabilities.
It was during the UN Global Road Safety Week, themed StreetsforLife, that REP launched the newsletter. The campaign this year called for reducing speeds in vulnerable zones (like around schools) to 30 km/hour (#Love30). It was apt that REP supported this week because, in certain areas, even if it is legal to drive at 50 or 60 km/hour, it may not be ethical!
The road traffic system is ethically charged as every thought, decision and action can have life-or-death consequences. Road designers, law enforcers, vehicle manufacturers and all road users – drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists – are thus ethical agents.
In this regard, REP has three main aims:
- To promote ethical literacy, helping people identify their values and reasoning processes related to road use
- To explain and promote the Vision Zero philosophy
- To offer training on the Safe System model of road safety
While the problem of road crashes may seem huge, we believe that shifting mindsets and fostering ethical conversations can bring about change. Through ethically awake people we can positively influence road design, law enforcement, vehicle use and human behaviour to reduce dangers in the road traffic system.
‘Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little’
Edmund Burke, 18th Century philosopher
Please hit the Join us button below to find out how to become a supporter or donor or to subscribe to the newsletter of the Road Ethics Project. We will also gladly send you information on our training courses and paradigm-shifting talks.
