By Joan Wambui
In summary:
- Over 800,000 benefited since inception of the campaign in 2007
- It is during the festive season that incidents and accidents on our roads are at their highest.
- This is the 10th edition of the company’s pre-Christmas Road Safety Awareness Campaign.
- Through this annual Road Safety Caravan, Bamburi will also have an opportunity to remind drivers, on a general requirement to always exercise caution and remain compliant as they drive on our roads every day.
- The participants will seek to improve truck drivers’, boda-boda operators’, and other road users’ knowledge on the risks associated with speeding and the need to follow the speed limit and other road regulations.
As part of its contribution to reducing the number of road accidents associated with the festive season, Bamburi Cement has once again this year embarked on a pre-Christmas campaign to sensitize drivers, boda-boda operators, members of the public and other road users on road safety.
The campaign is targeted on reducing the number of road accidents associated with the festive season.
It will see over 1,200 drivers and 1,000 boda-boda operators benefit from defensive driving training and as well as on road safety in general. Additionally, Bamburi Road safety representatives will target to address approximately 75,000 people or more in various towns across the country.
This is the 10th edition of the company’s pre-Christmas Road Safety Awareness Campaign. Launched in 2007 by Bamburi Cement, this annual campaign has since expanded through partnerships and participation of Transporters, the National Road Safety Authority, and other Stakeholders including Traffic Police and NGO’s. The theme for this year is “Makinika Barabarani,Okoa Maisha” that simply translates to “Drive Safely, Save Lives”.
Bamburi has partnered with its transporters to execute this campaign which saw a caravan flagged off from its Mombasa Plant and will stop at identified locations in Mombasa town before proceeding to Mariakani, Voi, Mtito Andei, Makindu, Sultan, Salama, Masimba, Machakos Junction, Athi River (Mlolongo), Salgaa among other stops. At the end, the caravan is expected to have travelled all along the Northern corridor from Mombasa to the border town of Malaba.
These locations have been identified as having significantly large number of boda-boda riders and being key rest points for short and long-haul transporters and as well as the general public.
“This year’s efforts are not only aimed at putting drivers who earn their living on the road safe, but also consolidating the gains made in previous years,” stated Ag Managing Director Bamburi Cement Mr. Eric Kironde who was speaking at an event to flag off the caravan in Mombasa
Through this annual Road Safety Caravan, Bamburi will also have an opportunity to remind drivers, on a general requirement to always exercise caution and remain compliant as they drive on our roads every day.
He added: “We will also reach out to various road users, especially vulnerable groups such as truck drivers, pedestrians, passengers and children to sensitize them on what constitutes safe behaviour on our roads. We will further be seeking to influence and change some attitudes and beliefs that lead to unsafe behaviour,”
The participants will seek to improve truck drivers’, boda-boda operators’, and other road users’ knowledge on the risks associated with speeding and the need to follow the speed limit and other road regulations.
Bamburi Cement Limited is a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, and is the leading cement manufacturing and marketing Company in the Eastern Africa region, having been operational for 63 years. It has three subsidiaries Hima Cement Ltd (Uganda), Bamburi Special Products Ltd and Lafarge Ecosystems Ltd.
