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Road Safety Workshop in Ethiopia

Workshop on Road Safety in Modjo

The Ethiopian National Forum for Rural Transport and Development (ENFRTD), an IFRTD affiliated network, organised a workshop on Transport and Road Safety in Modjo on the 5th February 2005.

The objective of the workshop was to sensitise stakeholders, namely, owners/drivers of horse carts, traffic police officers, road safety office representatives, representatives of the local administrations and the general public, about the serious impacts of road accidents on human life, animals and property in both rural and urban areas.

Modjo is located at a crossroads where there is high level of traffic congestion accidents. Horse carts are both the cause and effect of car accidents in the many towns along the Modjo corridor leading to the major highways of Addis Ababa, Nazereth and Awassa.

Participants of the workshop included:

- Leaders of the Horse Cart Owners Associations of Modjo and Zewaye towns
- Representatives of the Ethiopian National Road Safety Coordinating Office
- Representatives of the Ethiopian Road Authority
- Representatives of different insurance companies
- Officers of Traffic Police from Modjo, Zewaye and Nazereth
- Representatives of the Modjo Administration
- Representatives of the Modjo Transport Office
- Members of the Ethiopian National Forum for Rural Transport and Development

Papers on the Problems of Road Safety were presented by the Head of the Ethiopian National Road Safety Coordinating Office, the Chief Officer of traffic Police of the Oromia Region, the Officer of the Traffic Police of Modjo and Zewaye towns and a representative of the Ethiopian National Forum for Rural Transport and Development.

Papers on Transport and Health, focusing on the handling and positioning of critical patients and on Transport and Animal Care were presented by a surgeon and a veterinary doctor respectively and reflected the relationship of these issues with road safety.

The workshop established some key recommendations, which included:
1) The need to for stakeholders to coordinate their efforts to prevent road accidents that occur as a result of reckless driving, and/or the breach of traffic rules and regulations by drivers and pedestrians.

2) The need to organise Transport and Road Safety Committees bringing together key stakeholders including; traffic police, the transport office, cart owner associations and insurance companies.

3) The need for stakeholders to continue to exchange information and debate the issues of road safety, providing similar workshops to the Cart Owner Associations and other stakeholders.

For more information about this workshop please contact:

Taye Berhanu
Coordinator of the ENFRTD
Email: tayeberhanu@hotmail.com

The workshop was financially supported by Nib Insurance, a private share company.