Red Cross trains 40 traffic officers, drivers on road safety

South Sudan Red Cross on Tuesday trained about 40 traffic police officers, drivers, and Boda-Boda riders on road safety in Juba.

Joseph Lukak, Head of the South Sudan Red Cross- Juba Branch, said the two-day training that started on Monday will help improve communication and relation between traffic police officers and drivers while on the road.

“We have organized this two-day training basically to provide them with basic information about blood donation, and number two is to remind them about the responsibility toward saving lives,” Lukak told journalists in Juba on Tuesday.

Lukak disclosed that drivers were trained on traffic regulations and safety in order to reduce road accidents.

“The training brought together traffic police and drivers, basically for them to be highlighted on traffic regulations, and also at the same time to start building good relation between the traffic police and the drivers,” he said.

Col. Emmanuel Khemis, Representative of Traffic Police for Central Equatoria State hailed South Sudan Red Cross for training traffic officers and drivers on road safety.

“The workshop aims to strengthen the relationship between traffic police officers and the driver and this relationship is very important for the people on the road,” Col. Khemis said.

“I am appealing to you (drivers) to respect traffic rules and regulations to safeguard road users and prevent accidents because most of the accidents that are taking place in Juba are caused by teenagers, and most of them don’t even have a driving license,” he added.

Shoggy Mamuru, one of the participants appreciated South Sudan Red Cross for providing them with knowledge and skills on road safety.

“I was able to gain skills and knowledge on the safety of the road, and on how we the drivers can cooperate with traffic police officers to minimize road accidents,” Mamuru said.