Road safety advocates help make school run safer – a lesson from Malaysia

Children going to and from school in Malaysia will soon have more protection after campaigners successfully lobbied the government to cut speed limits and introduce new traffic calming measures.

School zones across the country will be the focus of this new strategy, which campaigners say is a ‘significant step forward’ in protecting the most vulnerable road users like children.

The default speed limit around schools will be reduced from 40 km/h to 30km/h and measures like speed humps, raised crossings and narrower lanes introduced, announced Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

None of this would have been possible without the work of The Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, which has played a central role in advocating for Malaysia’s latest initiative, specifically through its national representative, Safe Kids Malaysia. 

Key to this has been the alliance’s Accountability Toolkit. a set of practical tools that empowers NGOs to hold their governments to account for the safety of all road users.

‘Evidence highlighting the risks’

Safe Kids Malaysia was able to document its advocacy process and pull together a list of discussion points and interventions for when meeting with government representatives and other stakeholders. They were also able to show evidence highlighting the risks associated with unsafe school zones.

Kulanthayan KC Mani, of Safe Kids Malaysia, said: “The toolkit not only provided organized talking points and a step-by-step guide but also served as a checklist to ensure no critical elements were overlooked. It was instrumental in documenting and storing key information, which was essential for continuity as the advocacy journey progressed.”

It was also a milestone, he said, which reflected the Malaysian government’s commitment to following global road safety initiatives, adding that The Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 had had a significant influence’ on Malysia’s road safety targets.

Malaysia has incorporated these guidelines into its own National Road Safety Action Plan 2022-2030, a plan which prioritises speed reduction and includes the drive towards establishing 30 km/h zones.

In the Argentine city of Buenos Aires meanwhile, the alliance’s national member body, Asociación Madres del Dolor, has successfully lobbied the government to build a new pedestrian crossing and improve safety at a known busy intersection close to a school.

Madres del Dolor utilised evidence from its own ‘Mobility Snapshot’, a study of speeds and vehicle movements over a sustained period, to present the government with evidence that urgent changes were needed in order to make the intersection safer for vulnerable road users.

Viviam Perrone, o fAsociación Madres del Dolor, said: “We have used our results from the Mobility Snapshots to meet with road safety authorities of the municipality and the private company that maintains these roads. That’s where we got a yes and they are beginning to make changes in this intersection. Sometimes it’s a matter of knocking on the correct door to get positive results.”

“Prior to our Mobility Snapshot and advocacy, no one had requested these changes. People were just used to walking between cars and bikes. It’s a simple change that can make crossing that street much safer for so many.

“This suggests the need to change the way we perceive our streets, from accepting poor safety infrastructure as a norm, to demanding for safer streets,” she added.