It is always sad to hear of death especially when it is of children and of deaths that could have been prevented.

A week ago, a six-year-old girl was hit by a vehicle as she tried to cross a road at Mulivai Safata. It is a tragic incident indeed but this is not the first time such an accident has happened.

Road safety is everyone’s responsibility. Children are taught the basics at school and perhaps at home of how to cross the road safely and when it is a good time to do so. However, the smaller children will always follow what their elders do.

Even when crossing the road or travelling in vehicles, they will most likely mimic the actions of their elders. They will cross the road how their older brothers and sisters do, so it is imperative that as adults we follow the safety protocols so children learn from us.

One of the most common reasons why children are involved in road accidents after school is their failure to wait for the bus or car they were dropped off to move and then they cross the road. Smaller children, even an adult behind a bus, are hard to see or for them to see oncoming traffic.

In most cases, children run off blindly, their sights set on their homes rather than the road. And most times, they do not wait for the bus to move because such is the nature of children. As parents and elders, we should be setting an example by showing the children how to cross, when to cross and how to behave while on the road.

Road safety should be discussed during dinner or when the family gathers together. Teachers also have an important role to play as they spend a lot of time with children. It can be a few minutes every morning or every afternoon before the children are about to head for home.

Bus drivers also have a duty of care when it comes to children they are transporting. A reminder not to cross while the bus is parked or to cross once the bus drives off can be made to the children, no matter how old they are. Little safety tips such as this from the bus driver may save a life.

According to the World Health Organisation, 10 per cent of all deaths in Samoa are due to road accidents and most of these could have been prevented.

As parents and as elders, we have to make a point in educating the young ones on road safety. We have to do this by example as well.

According to WHO, 76 per cent of road deaths in Samoa are pedestrians. The other leading causes of traffic crash deaths are evenly split between drivers and passengers of buses and drivers and passengers of heavy trucks with 12 per cent each.

In terms of road fatalities, the worst year recorded for Samoa was 2009 where more than 50 people were killed on the roads. It was the year when the government implemented the controversial road switch.

According to the W.H.O, the number of “wasted lives” represents a “public health crisis” which has a “terrible impact on individuals, communities and countries.”

A country’s economic growth must be reflected in safer roads for its citizens.

The Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.Gs) called for a 50 per cent reduction in road traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2020, but this has not happened.  There is an urgent need to expand and accelerate the implementation of tried and tested policies to improve road safety in order to meet these ambitious but achievable development targets.

Road accidents incur massive costs to the often overburdened health care system, occupy scarce hospital beds, consume resources and result in significant losses of productivity and prosperity, with deep social and economic repercussions.

Education is the best way to tackle the road safety issues and it should begin at home. Once we are able to make our roads safer, we will also start contributing positively to the economy as well.

Road safety is everyone’s business.