17 July 2011 - As part of UNAMID’s continuous effort to create awareness of road risks and the vulnerability of road users, as well as to promote attitude changes for a safer approach to driving, the Mission launched today a road safety campaign of awareness activities during this week under the theme "Road Safety Starts with Us."

The main messages of the campaign are the importance of reducing speed to avoid severe traffic accidents, promote the use of seatbelts and discourage the use of mobile phones while driving.

UNAMID will collaborate with the Sudanese traffic police to install road safety checkpoints, and drama representations will be presented to the local community.

The use of road safety campaigns as a preventative strategy was introduced by UNAMID in December 2008. One year after the first campaign, the size of the fleet increased by approximately 138%, while the number of accidents in the Mission area dropped to less than half of the previous year. The number of UNAMID accidents has fallen from 1,164 in 2008-2009 to 484 in 2010-2011.
 

Communication and Public Information Division Media Contacts
Kemal Saïki, Director; saiki@un.org; tel.: +249 (0) 92 244 3529; mobile: +249 (0) 92 241 0020

Guiomar Pau Sole, Media Relations, paug@un.org, mobile: +249 (0)90 090 5097