Community-driven road safety in Blaaubosch, Newcastle, Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract

This study investigates community involvement in promoting and improving road safety in Blaauwbosch, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. The aim is to evaluate communitydriven bottom-up approaches like the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). The central premise is that road crashes can be reduced if community involvement is exercised. Road crashes are affecting all the communities globally, and they continue to escalate at an alarming rate. The 2013 and 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) Global Status Reports form the basis of this study by providing the facts and figures about global road crash statistics. Communities are motivated by the outcomes and impacts of road safety interventions in improving their well-being and development. The objectives of the research study were to document the community’s perceptions of road safety, to check how community members can be involved in reducing road crashes, and to specify the role that local authorities can play. These objectives were met with the use of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) as a research tool for data collection. The study found that the community members of Blaauwbosch perceive road safety as an important factor that affects their lives. There was also a belief that, through community involvement, road crashes can be reduced. The authorities also had an important role to play in reducing road crashes, provided there is political will and the required resources. The findings and conclusions drawn affirms that road safety is a collective responsibility and requires joint efforts from all the stakeholders.