Motorists urged to buckle up

QUADPARA Association of South Africa (QASA) are urging motorists to buckle up this festive season.

Quadriplegics and paraplegics will be deployed at six garages on national roads encouraging motorists to buckle up (wear your seat belt) in order to reduce the number of spinal cord injuries from road accidents on South African roads. QASA launched this road safety campaign on 6 December.

Motorists will be asked to sign a pledge to Buckle up and in return they will receive a license disk sticker. Quadriplegics and paraplegics involved with this road safety campaign will be branded with bibs which identify them as campaigners.

The CEO of QASA, Ari Seirlis said: “We are proud to deliver a road safety programme to the public and not only will we reduce the number of persons sustaining spinal injuries in accidents, but we employ our own members in implementing the project. Some of the very victims of road accidents, will be at the garage sites, encouraging road safety to the public.”

Thirty members of QASA have been employed for this project. The Association is adamant that if you are wearing your seatbelt and in an accident, your chances of sustaining a spinal cord injury are drastically reduced. More than 900 people become spinal cord injured in South Africa per annum and half of these from road accidents, the impact on their lives and the lives of their families are devastating and the cost immeasurable.

“Distracted driving is also on our agenda where we encourage road users not to use their mobile phones while driving, whether that be talking or texting,” added Seirlis.

The Buckle Up – We don’t want new members campaign was awarded the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists Road Safety Project of the Year award.

This year, the campaign is supported by the Road Accident Fund and the Cannonball Run event.