Prime Minister Jugnauth exhorted drivers, pedestrians, the citizens change their mindset, to behave responsibly and to adopt a healthy driving culture so as to achieve a reduction in the number of road accidents.
He was speaking, today, at the launch of the National Sensitisation Campaign on Road Safety at the Sir Harilal Vaghjee Hall in Port-Louis. The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo, and other personalities were also present.
The National Sensitisation Campaign on Road Safety with the theme, 'Stop Accidents Tous Concernés', will be carried out from October to December 2023 to better educate the population on road safety measures, prevent any mishaps and ensure that there is a decline in the number of road accidents.
In his address, Prime Minister declared that road safety has become a priority for the Government with the recent increase in the number of road fatalities. He indicated that Government in collaboration with stakeholders have implemented numerous measures to ensure the safety and security of road users, and yet the situation remains very alarming.
He recalled that at the sixth meeting of the National Road Safety Commission, under his Chairmanship, several decisions were taken to address road safety issues and that one key measure was to keep on sensitising the population on safety measures.
"It is the duty of each and every one to contribute to the safety and security of road users. The population must take cognizance of the imperativeness to be alert and abide by traffic laws at all times to ensure their own safety and that people around them", stated the Prime Minister.
Speaking on the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS) 2016-2025, Mr Jugnauth mentioned that it is at its third phase of implementation and highlighted the need to review the strategy to align it with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety for 2021 to 2030.
He added that the NRSS initiative has contributed to a drop in road fatalities by 8.8 % last year but unfortunately despite the enforcement of more severe measures, the number of road accidents are on the rise since January 2023.
The Prime Minister attributed the hike in road accidents to the reckless and careless behaviour of drivers and pedestrians, excess speed limit, consumption of alcohol, intake of drugs and poor attitudes of some commuters. He gave a patriotic call to the population to act as responsible ambassadors and contribute to safer roads and a safer Mauritius.
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For his part, Minister Ganoo stated that accidents are the major cause of death of adolescents around the world as well as in Mauritius. As per statistics, Mauritius records around 520 serious injuries cases per year; and from January to October 2023, 108 deaths have been registered compared to 83 for the same period last year, he said. Pedestrians and two-wheelers are mainly involved and 80% of cases are caused by negligence of drivers, he added.
Government, he underlined, is investing some Rs 3 billion per year to provide new user friendly and safe roads; resurface existing roads and sensitise the population. He also elaborated on the new measures being envisaged to better protect and ensure the safety of road users including more severe fixed penalties; probationary driving licence; new traffic signs regulations and pedestrians traffic regulations.
The Minister, furthermore, announced that his Ministry in collaboration with the Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology will come up with a Continuum of Road Safety Education for students of Grades 1 to 6 which would be introduced as from 2024 so that children learn and adopt appropriate behaviours as road users as early as possible.
