Jimma University, through its Road Safety Advocacy project, organized a regional consultative meeting in Bonga City of the Southwest Ethiopia Regional State on 24 June 2024.
The meeting was to advocate for maximizing concerted commitment of the regional decision makers and experts for understanding and harmonization of the new regulation to control road transport traffic in Ethiopia, endorsed by the Council of Ministers on 20 June 2024.
Key decision makers of the Southwest Ethiopia Region including the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Social and Legal Standing Committee members of the Regional Council, the Regional Police Commissioner, Head of the Regional Communication Bureau, Deputy Head of the Transport Bureau, other regional council members, justice, transport and traffic police experts, and representatives of Bonga and Mizan-tepi Universities participated in the event.
Dr. Getachew Tilahun, Director of Research Center for Road and Transport Safety, Jimma University, presented a paper on the five key behavioral risk factors – drinking and driving, speeding, and none/improper use of motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints.
He emphasized that proper awareness of the impact of these risk factors by the key decision makers and experts would significantly help them make the required policy related decisions.
Chief Inspector Fikru Gizaw, a member of the project, road safety instructor at Ethiopian Police University, and an independent legal advisor, presented key aspects of the new regulation, which he stated is comprehensive as it could meaningfully addresses the five key behavioral risk factors if it is implemented across the country with a good harmony of the regions.
According to him, the significance of this new regulation needs to be well understood and adopted soon by the regions so as to substantially reduce road traffic crashes causing deaths and severe injuries.
Discussions were held among the participants with a focus on the risk factors, key aspects of the new regulation and the necessity of harmonizing it. Participants also raised concerns related to accident prone areas in the region that have been causing repeated crashes, illegal driving license acquisition practices, and risky motorcycle uses, among others.
The key Southwest Ethiopia Peoples regional decision makers appreciated the exemplary work on road safety by Jimma University and called for a collaborative work with the regional transport bureau and universities in the region to investigate the key causes of road traffic crashes in the region and to come up with recommendations for intervention
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