CEAT's road safety message to 19 schools

The need for motorists and pedestrians to respect road rules has been convincingly conveyed to school children and parents in a novel service project undertaken by CEAT Sri Lanka, the country's top pneumatic tyre manufacturer.

In nine months, the company has conducted interactive programs in 19 schools, and donated customised traffic management aids to them in an effort to inculcate basic precepts of road safety. Children are the one of the most vulnerable segments to road mishaps.

A retired police officer specialised in road safety presentations was enlisted and audio-visual aids including enacted skits used to create awareness in a two phase CSR project from August 2009 to April this year.

The statistics on road-related accidents in Sri Lanka are alarming, CEAT Sri Lanka Managing Director Randeep Narang said. As a company whose product contributes to safety on the road, CEAT feels strongly that part of its commitment to the community should focus on this aspect.

Focused on students from grades nine to twelve, the program has covered schools of Colombo, Kalutara, Gampaha and Jaffna.

In the first phase of the program, CEAT donated traffic management kits to 12 schools including three schools in the Jaffna peninsula. These kits comprised traffic signs, traffic cones, hand-held boards, jackets and other aids.

The second phase an expansion of the first, benefited seven more schools. In addition to the donation of traffic management kits, the company conducted educational programs on road safety for students and transport providers of the schools. The schools were thereafter encouraged and monitored to promote road and pedestrian safety awareness programs with student participation in activities like competitions, and exhibitions. Schools that have generated impact through these efforts are to be recognised and rewarded.